How To Become An Interior Designer/Project Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is an interior designer/project manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Bill Darcy

An Interior Designer is an individual who plans and designs indoor spaces. They execute this by meeting with clients and agreeing on budgets and other important project details. They then research, plan, design, and coordinate the project to meet the client's expectations. Project requirements are mostly about structural alterations, picking out decorative items like colors and lighting, all to make the space visually pleasing.

Interior designers usually work in architectural firms and interior design firms. Some work as independent contractors, whereby they have their businesses. You may decide to design specific premises such as private residences, hospitals, restaurants, banks, or serve all sectors. All in all, you must be highly creative to be a successful interior designer.

The working hours for interior designers depend on where they work. Those in formal employment usually work, on average, 40 hours a week, 9 to 5. Those running their businesses hardly have regular working schedules, and they may need to work extra hours and weekends to meet client needs.

What general advice would you give to an interior designer/project manager?

Bill Darcy

CEO, National Kitchen & Bath Association

This year has thrown curveballs at us like never before, and the job market is just one of the areas that has been upended," said Bill Darcy, NKBA CEO. "One thing the pandemic has proven is that our homes are multitasking more than ever - like home office, home school, gym, spa - and our kitchens are getting quite a workout, as the family's central hub and gathering space. People are anxious to remodel, so they may customize their spaces to accommodate these new needs. This is one sector where business is robust, and many of our NKBA designer and remodeler members can't keep up with the volume of work. So, entering the workforce in a design or remodeling capacity holds a great deal of promise. Work and jobs are plentiful - and our research shows that design, construction and remodeling activity is likely to continue well into next year and beyond. Of course, no one can predict the course the pandemic might take or other factors might affect the economy, but I would suggest that this is an excellent time to explore internships and apprenticeships in the skilled trades, because these professional pathways, as well as kitchen, bath and interior design, are likely to yield solid opportunities for the foreseeable future.

ScoreInterior Designer/Project ManagerUS Average

Salary

5.7

Avg. Salary $73,114

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.7

Growth rate 1%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.14%

Asian 4.57%

Black or African American 1.48%

Hispanic or Latino 7.59%

Unknown 4.08%

White 82.14%

Gender

female 81.45%

male 18.55%

Age - 40

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 40

Stress level

6.7

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.4

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an interior designer/project manager

Explore interior designer/project manager education requirements

Most common interior designer/project manager degrees

Bachelor's

72.7 %

Associate

14.7 %

Master's

8.6 %

Start to develop specific interior designer/project manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Revit	16.45%
Design Projects	10.86%
Building Codes	8.22%
Design Services	5.86%
Sketch	4.61%

Complete relevant interior designer/project manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New interior designer/project managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an interior designer/project manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real interior designer/project manager resumes.

Research interior designer/project manager duties and responsibilities

Manage design for corporations, churches, educational facilities and healthcare organizations
Lead efforts to redesign and convert existing self-pace and instructor-le course materials into eLearning and web-base formats.
Produce schematic drawings and renderings in Revit for proposal packages, CD sets, and shop drawings.
Design interior and exterior commercial and residential construction projects utilizing digital sketch software AutoCAD.

Prepare your interior designer/project manager resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your interior designer/project manager resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an interior designer/project manager resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable interior designer/project manager resume templates

Build a professional interior designer/project manager resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your interior designer/project manager resume.

Apply for interior designer/project manager jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an interior designer/project manager job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

Average interior designer/project manager salary

The average interior designer/project manager salary in the United States is $73,114 per year or $35 per hour. Interior designer/project manager salaries range between $50,000 and $105,000 per year.

Average interior designer/project manager salary

$73,114 Yearly

$35.15 hourly

How do interior designer/project managers rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Interior designer/project manager reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2020

Pros

Each project has its own set of requirements to suite the owner’s style and needs.

Cons

Marketing our services to attract new clientele.

What is an interior designer/project manager and how to become one

What general advice would you give to an interior designer/project manager?

Interior designer/project manager career paths

Key steps to become an interior designer/project manager

Explore interior designer/project manager education requirements

Most common interior designer/project manager degrees

Start to develop specific interior designer/project manager skills

Complete relevant interior designer/project manager training and internships

Research interior designer/project manager duties and responsibilities

Prepare your interior designer/project manager resume

Choose from 10+ customizable interior designer/project manager resume templates

Apply for interior designer/project manager jobs

How did you land your first interior designer/project manager job

Average interior designer/project manager salary

How do interior designer/project managers rate their job?

Interior designer/project manager reviews