Exploring careers is great for any student because it leads to more informed choices. The good news is that there are so many resources and ways to investigate a career.

Here are three methods to gain first-hand career insights so students can knowledgeably map out an academic and career plan. This example uses interior design as a potential career, but students can apply these same methods to any career!

Here are some specific suggestions for researching an interior design major and figuring out if it's the right fit:

Online Research:

• Watch YouTube videos from interior design students sharing details about their projects, coursework experiences, etc.
• Look up websites for professional interior design associations like ASID and IIDA to read career spotlights.
• Search Instagram hashtags like #studentinteriordesign to see projects.
• Read interior design blogs and publications (Apartment Therapy, Dwell, etc) to immerse yourself in the field.

In-Person Research:

• Make an appointment with an interior designer to conduct an informational interview. Ask them about their career path and a day in their life. Ask if they are open to having you shadow them for a day or even a week. This is often how students land an internship!
• Contact the interior design department chair at your closest university and request to sit in on a class or chat with students.
• Attend open house events at colleges and ask about the program specifics - group vs individual work, internships, jobs upon graduation.

Summer Activities:

• Get an interior design summer internship, likely unpaid, to gain hands-on experience.
• Gather inspiration photos and create vision boards for a bedroom, office, lounge, or other space to practice composition.
• Read as many interior design books and magazines as possible to build visual vocabulary.
• Experiment with rendering spaces in simple online floorplan programs or tools like SketchUp.
• Visit open houses for home-staged houses to analyze the designer's material and layout choices.

Immersing yourself in the world of any career through multimedia research, informational conversations, and hands-on work will give you a well-rounded sense of whether that career aligns with your talents and interests. If it doesn’t, reflect on what parts of the career don’t work for you and move on to researching another career that might fit better.