Why I Hate Interior Design Certification + Do You Need It

I feel like I get asked this question a lot. And I hate to answer it. Not because I hate anyone who is asking the question, but I hate that this industry has created this stupid loop-di-loo of dumbshit that makes getting into an industry so hard. Especially when we’re not curing cancer here.

Okay, so let’s jump back into my very unpopular opinion that the interior design Illuminati may try to have me silenced over.

I do not like green eggs and ham, and I do not like the interior design regulations that folks have to hop through to join the industry.

Eons ago, I drank the Kool-Aid and earned the shit “they” said would be essential to have to be a) seen as a professional, b) alluring to clients, c) just what you’re supposed to do.

And I did.

And I’ve explained the story here and why I hate this stupid ongoing war which looks like a cheesy scene from Westside Story in my mind’s eye.

So, let get into it and know that this is for people in the USA. I have no clue what’s going on in other parts of the world, nor do I care.

Do You Need An Interior Design Degree?

You can read all of my thoughts on that here.

Do You Need A Certification?

If you didn’t read my post on whether you need the degree, then here’s the TL;DR version. If you live in a state that has some type of legislation, then you’re going to want to fall in line with their rules, unless you want the interior design police of your state coming after you.

Title Acts

With the “Title Acts,” they are seeking to prohibit you from using the title of “interior designer,” “registered interior designer,” or “certified interior designer.” Which at this point, who cares? They say it’s to bring up public awareness about the qualifications… okaaaaayyyy. It’s not really working because most residential clients will call you an “interior decorator,” even if you’ve earned the title. These agencies that seek to protect the public have done dick diddly shit to help the public understand the difference. But, at this point, I would guess you that if you’re going into residential design, you could call yourself the Hobgoblin of Homes.

Practice Acts

Then we have the Practice Acts, which require you to have education and experience to meet their requirements to practice interior design and what you call your services. Again for the “health, safety and welfare” of the public.

Self Certification

There are the Self-Certification systems, which shockingly the nanny-state California has, where you get your official street cred from an independent organization, and the government doesn’t send out the interior design police.

There’s a lot of laws in a lot of states, they’re all different, and the public rarely knows the difference or cares. I mean, have you seen the public? Watch any late-night show where they ask the public things that they should know, and they do not know the answer. Are we to believe that people are wasting hours wondering about interior design regulations? They’re not.

But yet we have people pushing for regulations in an industry where they assert that the practice of interior design could cost people their lives. I haven’t done the research, but I’m pretty sure I can’t recall the last time a person died from interior design complications.

Is Higher Education + Certifications Really Worth The Money?

I can’t answer that for you, but like with any form of higher education, can you see that there is a clear path to the return on your investment?

I would suppose, on the commercial side of things, employers care. And they’d want you to know how to use software like AutoCad, to understand how to draw to scale, building codes, etc. So if you’re looking for a career in commercial interior design, you’ll likely need all of the official street cred.

As for the residential side of things, yes, it’s good to get the basics in place through some formal education (even though I’ve worked with dipshits that had the formal education and certifications only to see firsthand that they couldn’t design their way out of a paper bag).

Commercial or residential, if you’re looking to do it officially with formal education, spending years working for another official designer type even to get the opportunity to sit for the certification tests, you’re looking at a lot of time and money. And it’ll likely take you a few years to pay this shit off if you get the job you want, making the average $40-70,000 per year before taxes from your interior design position.

But in general, and I’m not a lawyer  (Duh, I know, but some people are new here), so do not take what I write as the gospel. Still, it looks like you could call yourself the High Priestess of Accoutrements, not sell “interior design services,” but rather some airy-fairy titled offer like “dream space doodles,” and get on with your life.

How Will You Prove That You’re “Worthy”?

You’ll have to do a sacred ritual that involves a poof, a pop of color, and dance the “Trading Spaces” voodoo jig.

Just kidding, we don’t do that anymore.

Going into commercial design means that you’ll most likely go to a college and create work for your portfolio there to have something to apply to your first job with. You’ll show them what you did in college, along with your degree. The employer decides to hire you and on you go creating more shit to put in your portfolio should you look for a new job in two years and gain experience to show the next employer.

Going into residential design means (depending on the laws) either following a similar protocol that the commercial designer followed or taking your natural talents and going out into the world. If you take the latter route, you may need to take classes on topics where you could use help like how to use specific software or color theory.

Again, check the rules of the state where you live because you don’t want to be like the thousands of people in Florida (it’s always fucking Florida… but Texas plays this game, too) who get in legal trouble for providing design services without their official ducks in a row.

Is Any Of This Worth It?

That’s a question only you can answer after you’ve done your research because do NOT rely on me as your source of legal advice. Again, I’m not a lawyer and I do not spend my time researching the interior design laws of fuckery.

There are so many different options and paths when it comes to working in the interior design industry that you need to figure out where you want to end up and work backward to figure out how to get there.

Remember, Mr. Google is your friend (in this instance), and if you have big-time dreams of working for a particular company, email them and ask them what they’d recommend for someone in your position. Or join the Society and ask the coolest design pros around.

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