Interior Design Certificate vs Degree

Being professionally trained is one of the best things you can do when pursuing a career in interior design. You’ll be able to learn about all you need to know to range from color theories to the proportions of furniture. However, the question is do you need a degree to work as an interior designer? No, you don’t. You can acquire an interior design certificate instead.

Although it may not be necessary to have a degree in interior design, that doesn’t mean you get a formal education. All new interior designers should be doing everything in their power to stand out and beat their competitors.

Continue reading to learn more about interior design certificates, degrees and which one you might be right for you:

Why You Need Professional Training

Before getting into the whole interior design degree vs. certificate debacle, let’s start off with why you need to be trained professionally. Technically speaking, training and certification aren’t exactly needed for you to call yourself an interior designer. If you’re so inclined, you can even wake up one day and decide to be one. You might even become one of the top decorators in your hometown. However, your chances of succeeding are very slim without having any kind of knowledge.

From this point, you can choose to either attend school and get a degree or complete an apprenticeship. Becoming an apprentice means that you’ll learn from the job itself, however, the problem with this is that it may prove difficult to find someone who’s available.

They’ll either be too busy to take you under their wing or they might be mentoring someone else. Furthermore, becoming an apprentice may not provide you with the proper education as your mentor may cling to a niche.

If you’re looking to learn everything there is to know about graphic design, your best choice of action is researching interior decorating courses. When you pull up the web, it might bring up “interior design certification” or “interior design degree”. To someone new to the field, they may sound like the same thing, but the truth is that they’re two different things. Let’s take a look at both!

Interior Design Degree

Many universities offer degree programs for interior design. If you decide to go ahead with the interior design degree, prepare yourself for years of schooling and a lot of course work. Interior designers have to learn about all sorts of things such as drawing and reading blueprints and designing a building from scratch.

It’s also worth mentioning that most interior design firms require that you have a bachelor’s degree or higher. There are a few firms that’ll hire you with an associates degree, but these are rare and not worth the time.

Interior Design Certificate

Regarding education, both a degree and certificate for interior design covers the same topics. However, there are a few differences you should be aware of. An interior design certificate course like the New York Institute of Art and Design (NYIAD) teaches you how to decorate and design interior spaces like a professional. You’ll be taking the time to learn the various concepts of design such as popular trends, fabrics and furniture designs.

You’ll also learn skills such as designer-client interactions, holding a consultation, asking the appropriate questions, drawing out contracts and billing.

Interior Design Degree vs. Interior Design Certificate

You may be thinking “this doesn’t answer my question of which is right for me” Well, the truth of the matter is that there is no right or wrong decision. It ultimately falls to you to make that choice. Only you can decide what is best for you. All that you’ve read is to help you understand what to expect when you choose either a degree or certificate.

Interior design may seem like all fabric and fun, however, there are many challenges that await those who decide to pursue this career. How you go about getting the career is up to you. If you’re still unsure, keep researching and think hard about what the best course of action is.

Final Thoughts

Whether you get a degree or certificate is up to you. But before enrolling in any type of program, you need to do your research. If you’re determined to take interior design courses online or at a university, check out the program and make sure it’s something that genuinely interests you. Ensure that it has all of the necessary components.

If you’re looking for hands-on experience, a certificate may be the best course of action. These condensed programs get you into the industry sooner without having to take a lot of filler courses you probably don’t need.

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