Do You Want to Become an Interior Designer?
I get many calls from people who want to study interior design and Design Psychology. If you're looking for a career in interior design, the following information might help you decide whether or not to study traditional interior design.
Interior Design Career
by Jeanette Joy Fisher
If you love creating interior spaces for other people, you may want to look into becoming an interior designer. A number of states will require you to pass a stringent exam and to take extensive course work to become certified, which can entail from two to five years of post-secondary education and internships, but if it's something you love to do, the work you'll have to put in will be worth the effort.
Interior Designer Employment
According to figures published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, designers of all types, including interior designers, are some four times more likely to be self-employed than most other specialty professions. Those who do work within a company framework are usually employed by firms with less than five employees.
In 1997, which was the last information available from the U.S. Economic Census, there were 9,612 interior design companies operating in the United States, employing 33,915 designers. Those figures translate to an average of about 3.5 employees per company. There were several large design firms that employed 50 or fewer, several more that employed 100–200, and very few that employed several hundred or more designers.
Interior Designer Salaries
Like most employment figures, the amount of money interior designers make is all over the map, varying widely according to the type of design they do, reputation, the number of years of experience, local demand, and differences in regions. As in nearly every profession, your entry level salary will be low, but many senior designers and the owners of firms earn salaries that can be several times what a beginner will earn.
Recent surveys have shown that a beginning designer can often expect to earn somewhere in the neighborhood of $30,000 a year. After three or more years of experience, that salary level is somewhat higher, generally ranging between $35,000 and $40,000. If you get a strong reputation and the demand for your services becomes strong, you can command more than that. The same is true if you happen to be a person who can manage others who works for a design firm. Managers typically make $50,000 and $55,000. Owners or partners in a design company that is well known and popular can sometimes double that, making $75,000 to $100,000 or more.
You'll be able to find more information about salary considerations and other factors by visiting the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics website or www.salary.com.
The earning potential of interior designers often mirrors the economy at large, especially the real estate market. When times are good, demand for your services will increase as homeowners feel more flush. The opposite is true when the economy takes a downturn. Overall, projections made by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics would indicate that the field will add interior designers, especially at the lower levels, more quickly than the average for all occupations the Bureau tracks, at least through 2008. Even so, you'll find the competition for better-paying interior design jobs to be keen.
The best way to gain an advantage over other would-be interior designers is to get the best education possible, develop superior business skills, and hone your talent for creating great spaces. After that, the key will be to work hard and to persevere while you work your way toward your ultimate success.
Design Psychology
The field of interior design psychology differs from traditional interior design. You can study psychology and minor in interior design or look for colleges and universities that offer Environmental Psychology courses.
Home Staging and Real Estate Options
Real estate investors who fix houses (using Design Psychology) for resale generally make more on one house than interior designers make in an entire year. You can get started with your first home with no down payment and be on your way to a new business quickly. For more information, see Flipping Houses.
Because Joy to the Home believes that homemakers should do their own home decorating, we will offer new Design Psychology classes and teach others how to teach our specialized courses. For more information about our services, see Joy to the Home Realty and contact us.
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