Go to work for a successful interior designer. With your education, they should be thrilled to have you.

You need formal training from a IIDA/ NKBA accredited school. The advantages here are that you take classes that specifically train you in the latest code and best practices in Interior Design and these courses usually provide a special class that devotes a whole semester to recreating the NCIDQ exam that you take to become licensed.

Its one of the hardest exams - a few of my professors failed twice before completing it. A lot of professionals spend years in the field and take the exam, only to fail. It has little to do with experience and mostly deals with codes, listening to directions, and the time limit is what fails most people.

Good luck!

Hannah McCoy
hannahmccoydesigns.blogspot.com

Learn the codes! Take classes at a university extension. Get a job assisting an interior designer and learn as much as you can. Either way, there is no shortcut and you should formally study the trade and get your degree.

Do you want to do interior design or interior decorating/styling?? There is a difference!! Interior design will require you to complete an accredited program. Interior decorating/styling can be started by working in the field.

Many states are trying to pass legislation that makes it illegal to call yourself an "interior designer" unless you have a degree in Interior Design from an accredited university and pass the NCIDQ exam.

Go to architecture school and get your masters in 3 years. It will open a lot more doors than interiors.

I work in a furniture manufacturer (mainly custom furniture) and you learn so so so much. Though I am not a Designer, I deal with a lot of Designers and feel like I know so much more than they do from an engineering point of view based of my work experience alone. We also have a lot of people who were at some point Designers and now work as Project Managers and also learn a lot they don't teach you in school. It is a good way to get your foot in the door, meet people and learn with needing little experience.

Intern

An architecture degree from any college or university is 4 to 5 years, with a test similar to the medical boards exam at the end. A masters is more. A 3 year "degree," in "architecture school," will be a tremendous waste of anyone's money.

You don't need to take the exam to be a designer, nor do you need a 4 year school to take the exams. My mom and I started our interior design business four years ago and I went to a 2 year program at FIDM to learn the basics. I actually haven't even used most of what I was taught.

As some of the above have noted there is a major diference between being an interior designer and a decorator. Much of what you see on blogs is decorating. IIDA, NKBA and ASID don't accredit schools, they are professional organizations for Interior Designers. Accreditation is done by CIDA. While it isn't essential to graduate from an accredited school it certainly is an assurance knowing that you are learning what you need to know for the NCIDQ. For more information look up all of the organizations I mentioned above, that is where you will find all the information you'd like about pursuing a second career.

I'm working on my design degree, this is my third degree. Many of my classmates are returning students all at various stages in life.

Having a degree in Interior Design from a CIDA accredited school is most useful if you want to go into commercial interior design (hotels, restaurants, workplaces, healthcare, retail, etc). Some of my classmates did go on to work in residential but it's not as difficult to get into residential design without a degree (experience is best- if you have good taste you can learn the rest) as it is commercial. Any commercial design firm is going to want to see the degree, and eventually NCIDQ certification and LEED certification, etc.

I work in commercial design and I would have absolutely idea what I was doing if it wasn't for what I learned in school (codes, construction documents, materials and specifications, AutoCAD and Revit, and most importantly, how to approach a design problem and present your ideas).

As a interior designer, you have to listen to your clients, who sometimes have shit taste in design. You have to be willing to sacrifice your own design ideals for someone who pays u money to suit their wierd ideas.

If not, why not remain as a hotshot lawyer known for your flair in design and taste, where all friends flock to you for advise and help. Earn big bucks as a lawyer and build as many houses as you want and decorate it to your fancy.

Darryl Carter is a lawyer who just sorta became a world famous interior designer because he had great taste (and had his home featured in the Post). Unless you want to work in a firm, I'd just hang out a shingle and do it (the decorating part, rather than the moving-load-bearing-walls-design part).

As someone mentioned earlier, it's important to be sure whether you're interested in Interior Design or Interior Decorating/Styling. Unfortunately, these terms are often used interchangeably outside of the field (particularly on television), when there's actually a huge difference.

If you're interested in colours, fabrics, furnishings, and finishes, you may want to look further into styling. In the interior design field, these elements only make up the final ten percent of a project. Instead, a lot of attention is devoted to the nitty gritty of building codes, lighting grids, the drafting of detailed construction plans, etc. Also, a lot of projects in the Interior Design field are corporate--such as designing well-lit and well-laid out office plans.

A good place to start is to approach professionals whose work you admire and inquire whether they are designers or stylists/decorators, and see what route they took.

Off topic, but I just have to point out that 3Kids,4dogs has no idea what they are talking about. Of course you can get a 3-year professional MArch.

I hear you girl!!!! I have two degrees and a masters in a field completely different from interior design/decorating, but my passion is not in my current field either. I feel like I'm too old and I don't really want to go back to school but would love to follow my dreams in designing! I'm throwing around ideas of how to start a business of my own in an area similar to designing. Not sure if this help... Also, a previous commentor said that there were exams that are similar to the medical board! I doubt they are that hard! Seriously!

I still say if you want to try working in a different field, get a job in that field. Don't waste time and money studying -- go directly to finding out if you want to do it. Once you know what you want, then you can pick up classes along the way. I would NEVER spend time and money going to school to until I had actually worked in that field. Find out more about it and your path will be clear.

You're telling a person with a degree not to waste time and money studying.....

Chanelle if you want to decorate you really do not need a degree. careersininteriordesign.com is a helpful site. If you have any desire to practice commercial interior design you should get a degree from a CIDA accredited ID program and set yourself up with a degree and experience to sit for the NCIDQ exam. There is a big difference in the path you take based on your passion/goals. As a fledgling laywer I am sure you get caveat emptor...buy your career path wisely

Hi
I read through the post . Most of them suggest to do a proper degree course and then enter into this field. But I found yours where you have mentioned how you opened your own business without much of the college work..
I am interested to know how did you succeed. Can you let me know the details how you did it? Because even I have plans to shift my career from engineering to Interior designer field. But I am in middle of nowhere. Can you guide me?