The path to success...all the things they won't tell you

I know things get hectic when you're trying to figure out what the heck you want to do with your life, so I just wanted to give a quick overview for any of those out there looking to interior design as their potential path.

First, In high school you want to make sure you take drafting classes. AutoCAD is a HUGE part of your daily life as a designer. If you can't take these classes for whatever reason, you will still be alright, but it would give you a huge leg up if you can. Also, anything to do with construction would also be beneficial. Just remember that you can design all the pretty things you want, but if you can't figure out how they will go together, or how they will be mounted in a room they are useless.

Next, when looking for a college, make sure you choose a CIDA accredited program (I've listed the website at the bottom of this page). CIDA is the Council for Interior Design Accreditation. They are in charge of making sure that all accredited schools are held to certain standards that insure students training to become designers will have the skill set necessary to be successful in the field. Companies that are looking to employ designers will look at the college you graduated from to see if it was an accredited program.

When you do finally graduate after all the hours of lost sleep and those spent in studio, you will want to get licenced as an interior designer in your state. To get licenced you need to first, and again, graduate from an accredited interior design program, and then get 2 years of experience. Once you have 2 years of experience you can apply to sit for the NCIDQ examination. This 2 day exam tests your proficiency in a very, very broad range of topics in interior design. Once you pass, you can apply in your state to be licenced. There are more paths that this one to be qualified to sit for your NCIDQ, and they are all on the website listed below. All of them require work experience and schooling.

Disclaimer: All of this information is stuff that I have picked up over the years while going through school and working in the field. I felt that it was hard to sift through all of the information out there, and that it was hard to find people who could give me the info I needed. So this is what I feel is important to know on a basic level about getting into interior design.

Also, if you are looking to be a decorator, none of this is necessary. You can be a decorator without going to school. However, you CANNOT legally call yourself an interior designer without a degree from an accredited school. If you are looking to just work as a designer at a furniture store, or kitchen store doing furniture layouts, a lot of this is also unnecessary. You will want a degree, but it doesn't have to be accredited. You could even just get a 2 year degree.

Websites:
CIDA (Council for Interior Design Accreditation) http://www.accredit-id.org/
IDEC (interior Design Educators Council) http://www.idec.org/
NCIDQ (National Council for Interior Design Accreditation) http://www.ncidq.org/