Interior Designers

What the job really is

Plan, design, and furnish the internal space of rooms or buildings. Design interior environments or create physical layouts that are practical, aesthetic, and conducive to the intended purposes. May specialize in a particular field, style, or phase of interior design.

At a glance

• Sector: Arts, Design & Media
• O*NET-SOC code: 27-1025
• O*NET job zone: 4 — considerable preparation
• Work sample tasks on file: 12
• Tools and technologies listed: 12

What you actually do

Work sample tasks recorded for this occupation:

• 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.
• Select or design, and purchase furnishings, art work, and accessories.
• Estimate material requirements and costs, and present design to client for approval.

Tools and technology

Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Creative Cloud software, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Autodesk AutoCAD, Autodesk Revit, Chaos Enscape, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint

What employers expect you to already be comfortable with.

Where this job leads

Related occupations — the usual moves up and sideways:

• Commercial and Industrial Designers
• Craft Artists
• Landscape Architects
• Fashion Designers
• Merchandise Displayers and Window Trimmers
• Set and Exhibit Designers
• Architectural and Civil Drafters
• Graphic Designers

Getting in

O*NET assigns this occupation job zone 4 (considerable preparation). The related occupations above are the realistic routes in and out.

Find openings

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Check this against the source

O*NET OnLine: Interior Designers — the authoritative public-domain profile this page is derived from, including the full task list, reported skills and the wage estimates for your region.

Derived and rewritten from the public-domain O*NET database (U.S. Department of Labor / Employment and Training Administration). Figures are observations, not promises — always confirm salary, licensing and visa requirements with the employer and the relevant authority.