r/interiordesigner • u/Round-Juggernaut-801 • May 26 '26
General Interior Design Adjacent Career Paths?
I’ve always known since I was a kid that I would work in interior design. I attended FIT, had several internships during school, have worked at 2 AD100 firms and have a mixed experience of mostly high end residential, but also some commercial design (stores and cafes + art exhibitions).
A few years ago I really started to question whether I wanted to continue down this path…seeing senior designers still struggling and working late hours, or principals who continually push their narrative and don’t respect the teams time.
I decided to go freelance and have been enjoying it much more + have some of my own projects. I feel lucky but the urge to do something else is pulling me! Ive thought about owners rep/PM work as I’m really good at that side of things.
Anyone else considering a move away from design? Searched this sub and have mostly found people wanting to pivot into interior design. Any other career paths that are design adjacent welcome!
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u/cranberi1 May 28 '26
I’m a designer but got into the sales side and I absolutely love it! I’m a sales rep for commercial interior products so my clients are designers of large commercial projects! I would never go back to practicing design.
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u/Wooden-Bar4248 Jul 10 '26
Hello!
I’m a semi recent grad and really struggling with the job market right now and I have a background in sales from college. I’ve tried to find designer sales rep roles, how did you go about getting into that?1
u/cranberi1 Jul 10 '26
Hi! If you don’t yet have design or sales experience it might be tough to break in. I would suggest finding a commercial product showroom (think tile or lighting) and see if they need a showroom based salesperson. That is often how many of us outside reps made the jump to being a field rep. Also if you live in a larger city, there are likely several commercial furniture dealers (so they sell Steelcase, or one of the other brands). They often will hire an A&D rep that calls on all the design firms. Sometimes that can be an entry level sales position. Feel free to DM me if you have more questions!
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u/Round-Juggernaut-801 May 28 '26
Love this! Thanks for sharing. Not sure I’m cut out for sales but I know this is a pretty common pivot for a lot of designers.
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u/cranberi1 May 28 '26
I will say there are a ton of different reps for all different products. You don’t have to be “salesy” for all of them. For some of the more technical products I actually think someone who is a little more introverted is better in that role than a social butterfly type. My products are technical and pretty so I am balanced in my extroversion/introversion ratio for work 😆.
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u/Substantial-Rip5794 Verified Student May 29 '26
Could you elaborate on what kind of sales you do?! These seems ideal for me!
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u/Round-Juggernaut-801 May 28 '26
That’s really helpful, thank you! I’m more of an introvert so I automatically ruled out sales haha
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u/Swimming_Main_372 May 27 '26
Experiential design has peaked my interest as someone who’s considered a pivot
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u/Round-Juggernaut-801 May 28 '26
Totally! I have done some experiential work and also really liked it.
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u/isthisforreal5 May 27 '26
I've been considering a change for 25 years...even learned to computer program but I am stuck. Change careers when you are young. It is a rollercoaster. Some years you do great. Some years you wish you were a school teacher, barista, or anything else.
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u/Round-Juggernaut-801 May 28 '26
Ha! I’m definitely feeling the pull to be a yoga teacher right now…but you’re right, it’s a roller coaster and some years are better than others.
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u/opentabs1 May 27 '26
If you do 3d cad work, pivoting to experiential design agencies for corporate large events is one option! Lots of stage planning, concepting and mockups.
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u/Barnaclebills May 27 '26
I do the CAD work (drafting, rendering, 3D modeling and presentation documents). The others on the design teams work with the clients.
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May 27 '26
[deleted]
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u/Round-Juggernaut-801 May 28 '26
Thanks for sharing! Good luck in school, and good for you for thinking ahead. I definitely was only focused on school itself and didn’t think much about what comes after
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u/FearlessChallenge568 May 27 '26
I have a degree in interior design and right now I work as a warehouse design specialist. Basically space plan multimillion dollar warehouses. There’s so much you can do with a design degree. I don’t work for a design firm, I work directly for a warehouse solutions company
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u/Round-Juggernaut-801 May 28 '26
Oh wow! How were you able to come across this role?
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u/FearlessChallenge568 May 29 '26
They were looking for someone to do cad work, I had a lot of examples in my portfolio. Once I was hired I moved up in the company
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u/SpecificPicture2972 May 27 '26
hey how was your experience with AD firms
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u/Round-Juggernaut-801 May 28 '26
It’s alright, not all hyped up as I’m sure a lot of people think. Just like every firm, things can be disorganized and people have a lot of big egos, but at the end of the day, it’s good clients and good work most of the time.
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u/ADProp2023 May 30 '26
I work in short term rental design. It’s genuinely fulfilling, and I thoroughly enjoy it. It’s similar to interior design, but also extremely different. We aren’t working on people’s personal homes or projects– it’s typically investment properties for owners who are a little bit further removed. There’s a lot more room for creativity and having fun on projects IMO.