You know you have the passion and creativity to achieve success in the interior design business. But you are wondering where and how to start. You ask yourself whether you need a formal certificate or degree to start practicing interior design. Of course a degree can really help you in finding your dream job if you are considering working for people. However, if you live in the US or Europe right now; people will tell you that they are having tough time finding employment; some were even unemployed for years! The point is there are many people out there in the market looking for the same thing as you. So if you have decided to get a formal education, then go as high as you can afford, you need to get a Bachelor Degree at the very least considering the competition you are up against; don’t just settle for a Diploma or Certificate.
What if you don’t have the money and you don’t wish to apply for a student loan to further your study. Can you still make your dream comes through as an Interior Designer one day? The answer is YES! It is not always necessary to register to a professional body in order to practice interior design. You can always partner with a contractor to carry out renovation projects. In fact, this is the best way to give you higher profit margin. When a client ask you for interior design service, you will come out with the design sketches and ask a contractor to give you a rough estimation of the construction cost for the design. You then mark up the cost (depending on how much profit you wish to make from this project) and present it to the client. Most clients would want to have this type of design and build service as they just need to coordinate with one person only and that person is you. They will also have a better idea how much they have to fork out for the renovation. If this sounds like the path that you would probably take, then what you must have are 2 things: ideas and network. Do you need to complete a degree to get ideas? I don’t think so. You can get ideas from books, places you visit or travel to, internet and in fact anywhere you go. We are surrounded by design ideas everyday everywhere.
Perhaps you are now saying that: “But I still prefer to work for people because I don’t think I’m ready to start my own practice yet.” No problem, there is still another option for you. Have you thought about working in another country? It is just one click away for you to find out there are vast opportunities in other parts of the world.
I’ve just briefly highlighted the 3 ways that you can consider in becoming an Interior Designer.
Option 1 – Get a degree and work for an Interior Design company Option 2 – Start your own business Option 3 – Work overseas
