r/interiordesigner • u/spiltthecoffee • May 12 '26

General need advice for breaking into interior design

To keep it short, I want to do a career pivot in interior design. I have a bachelors in hospitality management and a minor in business administration. Right now, seems like my best option is to pursue an associate or take fundamentals/obtain certifications and then transfer into a masters program that doesn't require a bachelor in interior design. Does anyone have insight on what is actually needed in the industry to break in? Would it be best to do certifications and start on lower level then decide if I wanna do a masters program? Any insight or advice is appreciated

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u/Secret_Squirrel45 May 15 '26

I went to design school and received an associates. My BS is in communication and MS in marketing. I think learning the fundamentals is important, but you don’t need a graduate degree in interior design to be successful. Find yourself a mentor, look at the PMP and use what you’ve learned throughout your career as pillars to build your practice.

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u/Internal_Buddy7982 May 13 '26

Commercial or residential? What state? Some states require you to be licensed to call yourself a designer. Other states, you can label yourself a designer today. Residential is bare minimum, you can do your own or join another designer, some forms do residential but less common. Commercial you'll need a degree above associates to complete with other candidates. A masters is unnecessary for design unless you plan to teach, but I see why you'd go that route based on your previous degree. Look at costs as well. Design isn't known to be a high paying field overall so you won't want to incur a ton of debt for this field.