Interior design

A degree in interior design will equip you with the specific creative and technical skills you'll need to succeed in the field

Job options

Jobs directly relevant to your degree include:

• Interior and spatial designer
• Exhibition designer
• Production designer, theatre/TV/film
• Visual merchandiser

Jobs where your degree may be useful include:

• Architect
• Architectural technologist
• Concept artist
• Estates manager
• Furniture designer
• Graphic designer
• Product designer
• Stylist
• Textile designer
• Web designer

Remember that many employers accept applications from graduates with any degree subject, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here.

Work experience

Competition for work experience within the interior design field is strong. Be proactive with your search and try to make contacts through your degree projects and placements. You could also join the Chartered Society of Designers (CSD) as a way to network with established designers.

Contact companies that you would be interested in working for such as interior design and architectural firms, design consultancies, construction companies, visual merchandising departments and theatres to ask whether you could undertake a placement with them.

Entry-level jobs within these companies are also helpful. For instance, a shop assistant job may build your knowledge of the retail industry and enable you to forge links with the visual merchandising team.

Taking part in live briefs, entering competitions and attending exhibitions can provide valuable learning experiences and may also help you to make contacts. There are likely to be opportunities to do this through your university, so find out what is available. Keep records of all design work you create as a portfolio may be required by future employers.

Search for placements and find out more about work experience and internships.

Typical employers

Any company that creates living, shopping and working spaces for people is a potential interior design employer. This includes:

• architectural firms and construction companies
• interior design companies
• exhibition centres and events management companies
• consultancies offering a wide portfolio of design services
• retailers
• theatre, TV or film companies.

You may work in-house or for consultancies that provide services to a range of external clients.

It's also possible to work in other related roles with various employers such as design agencies, web design companies or within further education.

Freelance work is common within the design field, allowing you to be self-employed and have some level of control over the projects you take on.

Find information on employers in creative arts and design, property and construction, retail and other job sectors.

Skills for your CV

An interior design degree teaches you about how people interact with environments and how you can improve them for their use. You will get specialist skills such as:

• drawing techniques
• concept development
• computer visualisation
• graphic design
• model-making.

It also allows you to develop general skills that many employers value such as:

• research skills
• creative thinking
• presentation and communication skills
• organisational skills
• teamworking
• IT proficiency.

Further study

You could choose to complete postgraduate study in order to develop your skills further. Specialist Masters degrees are available in interior design and architectural visualisation. You could also consider a Masters in a related discipline in order to build skills relevant to another design field, such as product design, graphic design or surface design.

Another option is to train for a profession outside of the design industry, for example teaching, youth work or arts therapy.

Business start-up courses run by universities, local arts centres or charities are also useful for those interested in self-employment. These tend to cover areas such as choosing the right legal status, insurance, tax, accounts, marketing and pricing.

For more information on further study and to find a course that interests you see Masters degrees and search postgraduate courses in interior design.

What do interior design graduates do?

37% of all interior design graduates in employment 15 months after graduation are working as interior designers. Other jobs in the top ten include graphic and multimedia designers (6%), CAD, drawing and architectural technicians (5%), design occupation (3%), chartered architectural technologists, planning officers and consultants (2%) and architects (1%).

Find out what other graduates are doing after finishing their degrees in What do graduates do?

Graduate Outcomes survey data from HESA.