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
• Estates manager
• Furniture designer
• Graphic designer
• Product designer
• Stylist
• Textile 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

Gaining relevant work experience shows employers that you can use your skills and knowledge in a professional environment. It also demonstrates that you are proactive, motivated and committed to a career in this field.

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 the same types of company will give an insight into the context in which the company operates and enable you to make contacts. 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. There are likely to be opportunities to do this through your university, so find out what is available.

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.

Working on a freelance basis is fairly typical, although full-time, permanent roles do exist.

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 gives you specialist skills in drawing techniques, concept development, computer visualisation, multimedia, graphic design and model-making.

It also allows you to develop transferable skills that are valued by a range of employers. These include research skills, creative thinking, presentation and communication skills, organisational skills, teamworking and IT proficiency.

Further study

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.

Short 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?

38% of all the interior design graduates in employment 15 months after graduation are working in design occupations. Other jobs in the top ten include CAD, drawing and architectural technicians (6%), web and multimedia design professionals (6%) and architects, chartered architectural technologists, planning officers, surveyors and construction professionals (4%).

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

Graduate destinations data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.