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Interior Designer

Academic programs / Undergraduate degrees / Career opportunities / Interior Designer

Interior Designer

Explore employment trends, required job duties and skills for this career. ASU offers a variety of degrees that can help you prepare for and meet your career goals. Visit ASU's Career and Professional Development Services to learn how to develop your career plan.

Potential job titles in this career
Certified Kitchen Designer, Color and Materials Designer, Commercial Interior Designer, Decorating Consultant, Designer, Interior Decorator, Interior Design Consultant, Interior Design Coordinator, Interior Designer, Registered Interior Designer

* Additional schooling, certification, or degrees maybe be required for some of the potential careers that are listed.
What will I do?
  • Design plans to be safe and to be compliant with the American Disabilities Act (ADA).
  • Use computer-aided drafting (CAD) and related software to produce construction documents.
  • Research health and safety code requirements to inform design.
  • Confer with client to determine factors affecting planning of interior environments, such as budget, architectural preferences, purpose, and function.
  • Advise client on interior design factors, such as space planning, layout and use of furnishings or equipment, and color coordination.
  • Coordinate with other professionals, such as contractors, architects, engineers, and plumbers, to ensure job success.
  • Review and detail shop drawings for construction plans.
  • Inspect construction work on site to ensure its adherence to the design plans.
  • Render design ideas in form of paste-ups or drawings.
  • Subcontract fabrication, installation, and arrangement of carpeting, fixtures, accessories, draperies, paint and wall coverings, art work, furniture, and related items.
  • In this career, it is important to know
    Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.

    Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
    It's useful to be good at
    Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).

    Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.

    Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

    Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

    Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

    Visualization - The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.

    Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

    Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

    Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

    Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
    Employment trends
    Location Pay period 2025
    10% 25% Median% 75% 90%
    United States Hourly $19.91 $24.92 $32.31 $41.22 $54.87
    Yearly $41,420 $51,840 $67,190 $85,740 $114,140
    Arizona Hourly $23.26 $26.52 $29.55 $38.99 $47.04
    Yearly $48,380 $55,150 $61,460 $81,110 $97,850
    2025 Median%
    United States $32.31 Hourly $67,190 Yearly
    Arizona $29.55 Hourly $61,460 Yearly

    Employment (2024)
    87,100 employees
    Projected growth (2024 - 2034)
    Slower than average (2% to 3%)
    Projected job openings (2024 - 2034)
    7,800
    * Data obtained from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) under sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA).

    Program term definitions

    Accelerated programs allow students the opportunity to expedite the completion of their degree.

    Accelerated master's

    These programs allow students to accelerate their studies to earn a bachelor's plus a master's degree in as few as five years (for some programs).

    Each program has requirements students must meet to be eligible for consideration. Students typically receive approval to pursue the accelerated master's during the junior year of their bachelor's degree program. Interested students can learn about eligibility requirements and how to apply.

    Concurrent degrees allow students to pursue their own personal or professional interests, earn two distinct degrees and receive two diplomas. To add a concurrent degree to your existing degree, work with your academic advisor.

    Joint programs, or jointly conferred degrees, are offered by more than one college and provide opportunities for students to take advantage of the academic strengths of two academic units. Upon graduation, students are awarded one degree and one diploma conferred by two colleges.

    ASU adds new programs to Degree Search frequently. Come back often and look for the "New Programs" option.

    ASU Online offers programs in an entirely online format with multiple enrollment sessions throughout the year. See https://asuonline.asu.edu/ for more information.

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