On Friday 18 January 2013 10:30 jhonnilot wrote in alt.home.repair:


Hi! I'm a junior in high school looking to major in Interior Design. At
first I wanted to go into Architecture, but after a lot of research I
came to the conclusion that the workload would have been a little too
much considering I would love to join a sorority and get involved in
campus life. I've been research the Interior Design major, but haven't
been finding much so I was someone on here could give me some
information!

Schools I'm thinking about if that helps:
Auburn
Kentucky
and Mizzou

Thank you!

Being a Brit I have no idea how your Uni/college courses work - though I do
know about the British side because I work at one.

So in general terms I would say:

1) Do you have any natural design aptitude? Have you ever chosen a paint
colour scheme, actually done it and had people agree that it looked good
(and "everything white" does not count!)? Or designed a room layout, even in
your own house? I doubt if that ability could readily be taught. Enhanced
perhaps with a toolset of skills, but not if there's nothing there to begin
with. You could be taught technical skills with oil painting, but that will
not automatically make you Rembrandt.


1a) Related point - can you visualise 3D in your head? Are you good with
spacial distances? If I showed you a picture of a sofa and a picture of a
room, would you know exactly how the sofa would look in the room without
resorting to CAD? Some people are naturally good at this, some people are
completely hopeless. I do not think it is an absolute problem, but it is
significant.


2) Is an Architecture course so much harder that you really don't think you
could manage it or afford it? If you can become an accredited architect
(certified, however that works where you are) I suspect you will always find
work. Doesn't have to be the Empire State Building - plenty of "ordinary"
work doing homes and apartments too.


3) Do you really need a course for Interior Design (cf point 1 above) -
perhaps taking an internship with a respectable design company could teach
you a lot more. Might take longer, but you'll have the exposure to practical
skills that universities do not always teach. If you show aptitude, at least
you are likely to walk straight into a job with them - or another company
they recommend you to.


Choosing how to spend a few years in a life affecting way is always a hard
choice - worth spending some time.

What you should be able to do is visit some of those colleges (etc) that you
are thinking of, ask some questions - one of which should be "what
percentage of your alumni get jobs in the field of Interior Design?".


Good luck


--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://www.dionic.net/tim/

"It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent
moral busybodies."