When people think of interior design, they can tend to have a limited vision of the profession. Most people will imagine a woman decorating her own home, or someone else's as a paid consultant. While this is certainly an aspect of design, it is by no means the only application of the principles of design, or of the degree. In fact, design is a rich, rewarding and versatile career that can include many different opportunities across a wide spectrum of industries and applications.
If you are considering a career in interior design, your first step will be to get a college degree. Degrees in design can be obtained from numerous college and universities. As with any degree program, certain institutions will have a more lucrative and honorable reputation in the field. These are generally harder to get into and more expensive. You will face more competition in networking for jobs and internships, but the name on the diploma can be worth it. Outside of prestigious design schools, you can acquire an associate's or bachelor's degree from a variety of schools. A quick Internet search should turn up a number of options. While you are in school, you will pick up a variety of experience that will both help you determine where you want to practice and will make your resume look impressive to future employers.
Once your degree is completed, you are ready to get to work. Some designers do work in residential design. They may be employed by furniture stores or by custom decorators. They specialize in bringing a homeowner's personality to life through the interior design of the home. Another application for a design career is in commercial design. In this area, a designer may find him or herself creating designs for hotels, hospitals, offices, malls, and stores, for example. Still other interior design students can find work in the theater world, in areas such as set design for movies, plays, and other types of theater, or in decorating a performance hall, for example. Some designers will work as a buyer or purchaser for furniture or other home accent stores. It is their job to find the unique and special pieces that customers will want to buy and will help to create the reputation of the store in the local areas. Still another possibility for Design would be sales careers in areas such as kitchen design, flooring design, landscape design, and even home design, although the latter requires collaboration with an architect.