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Interior Designers

Typical education: Bachelor's degreeModerate pressure

What they do

Plan, design, and furnish the internal space of rooms or buildings. Design interior environments or create physical layouts that are practical, aesthetic, and conducive to the intended purposes. May specialize in a particular field, style, or phase of interior design.

Kinds of work

  • Artistic: Creating, designing and expressing ideas through art, writing, music or performance.
  • Realistic: Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals, often outdoors.
  • Conventional: Organizing information, following clear procedures and working with data and details.

Moderate pressure: How much pressure workers in this job report: deadlines, conflict, dealing with upset people, the cost of mistakes, responsibility for others' safety, competition and long hours. It varies a lot from one employer to the next. Source: U.S. Department of Labor worker surveys.

Pay, tasks and more

Salary

United States $67,190 Median per year · $32.31/hr Most earn $41,420–$114,140

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025.

What you might do

  • Research and explore the use of new materials, technologies, and products to incorporate into designs.
  • Research health and safety code requirements to inform design.
  • Formulate environmental plan to be practical, esthetic, and conducive to intended purposes, such as raising productivity or selling merchandise.
  • Advise client on interior design factors, such as space planning, layout and use of furnishings or equipment, and color coordination.
  • Research health and safety code requirements to inform design.
  • Subcontract fabrication, installation, and arrangement of carpeting, fixtures, accessories, draperies, paint and wall coverings, art work, furniture, and related items.

Job outlook

United States
3% more jobs by 2035, about as fast as average · about 7,700 openings a year

Openings include new jobs and jobs left by workers who retire or change careers. Projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Bright Outlook": U.S. Department of Labor.

Where they work

  • Specialized design services30.2%
  • Self-employed (their own business)26.4%
  • Furniture and home furnishings retailers6.8%
  • Residential building construction4.9%
  • Building material and supplies dealers4.5%

Share of all workers in this career. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Employment Matrix.

Experience before this job: 1 to 2 years

Career path

How people usually get into this career, from school to their first job and beyond.

Typical education: Bachelor's degreeExperience before this job: 1 to 2 years

Interior design usually isn't an entry-level job straight out of school. Most people earn a bachelor's degree, then spend about 1 to 2 years in an junior design role before working as an interior designer.

  1. High school diploma with strong art and drafting courses

    4 years

    Building drawing, design, and computer skills now gives you a head start for a design degree and makes your portfolio stronger.

  2. Bachelor's degree in interior design

    4 years

    You learn space planning, materials, building codes, drawing software, and design theory, and you build a portfolio of projects to show employers.

  3. Junior Interior Designer or Design Assistant

    1-2 years

    You support senior designers with drawings, material samples, client meetings, and furniture orders while you learn how real projects work from start to finish.

  4. Interior Designer

    Ongoing

    You plan and furnish interior spaces on your own, working directly with clients, contractors, and vendors.

Where it can lead

  1. Senior Interior Designer

    3-5 years of experience first

    You lead bigger projects, manage a small team of designers, and handle more client relationships and budgets.

  2. Principal Interior Designer or Design Director

    8+ years of experience first

    You set the creative direction for a firm or studio, win new clients, and oversee several teams at once.

What you can do now

Ideas for high school and college students.

In high school

  • Take art, drawing, and design classesThese build the sketching and visual thinking skills you will use in every design project.
  • Take geometry and math classesMeasuring rooms, scaling drawings, and figuring out materials all rely on solid math.
  • Join an art club or yearbook/layout teamWorking on layouts and visual projects with a team helps you practice design and get feedback.
  • Enter a local art or design competitionCompetitions give you finished work for your portfolio and show you how judges think about design.
  • Get a part-time job at a paint store, furniture store, or hardware storeYou'll learn about materials, colors, and how customers think about their homes.

In college

  • Major in interior design or a closely related fieldA degree in interior design gives you the training and portfolio that most entry-level jobs require.
  • Learn CAD and 3D modeling softwareSoftware like AutoCAD, SketchUp, or Revit is used daily in design offices, and knowing it makes you a stronger job candidate.
  • Intern at a design firm, architecture office, or furniture showroomInternships show you how real projects run and often lead to references or job offers.
  • Take a part-time job or volunteer on campus or in townHelping set up a campus event, a theater production, or a community space gives you real experience arranging furniture and planning layouts.
  • Join a student design or architecture clubClubs offer design critiques, portfolio feedback, and connections with working professionals.

Tips for getting started

  • Start a portfolio now with class projects, room makeovers for family or friends, or sketches of spaces you admire. Employers in this field look closely at your portfolio.
  • Learn drawing and design software such as AutoCAD, SketchUp, or Revit. Many entry-level jobs expect at least basic skills in one of them.
  • Look up whether your state requires a license or certification for interior designers before you choose a program, since rules vary by state. For pay ranges, check the career page on this app, which shows typical pay near you and nationally.

Related jobs that often lead here

Related jobs a step up

Education, experience and related careers: U.S. Department of Labor. The step-by-step path, where it can lead and what you can do now were written by AI as typical examples; many people take other ways.

College majors that lead here

Majors: U.S. Department of Education and BLS (CIP–SOC crosswalk). Earnings and debt: College Scorecard, typical across U.S. colleges.

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