According to a report from the World Economic Forum, 85 million jobs will be replaced by robots by the year 2025. Well, maybe not actual robots but automation and artificial intelligence systems stand to make many careers obsolete. So, are interior design jobs safe and how can you safeguard your future career in the industry? We’ve put together some tips to help you plan for the rise of the robots!
How Safe Are Interior Design Jobs?
According to willrobotstakemyjob.com, there is a 2% chance of interior design jobs being taken over by robots, i.e fully automated in the future. Almost all research suggests that creative industries are pretty safe when it comes to the rise of the robots so starting a career in interior design is a pretty safe bet in terms of job security.
Technology is now commonplace in the creative industries, with CAD programmes taking over from hand drawing and sketching and becoming an artform in their own right. But what skills can you learn to safeguard your future career in interior design? How can you stay ahead of the curve? Here are some tips to help you leverage technology to future proof your interior design job prospects.
Interior Design Software
Interior design software has come a long way in the last few years. You no longer have to rely solely on AutoCAD and Sketch-Up. There’s a whole array of options available for mood boards, space planning, renders and online portfolios.
Our blog is a useful place to find resources for interior designers. The following posts may help you to choose the right software for the job:
Best Interior Design Apps & Software – Renders, Room Plans and Elevations
Best Interior Design Software & Apps – Inspiration, Concept Boards & Sketchbooks
“It is so easy to stay in your comfort zone when it comes to software skills as a designer. One thing this pandemic has proven that regularly improving / adding new computer software skills such as SketchUp or Revit to your list of proficiencies can pay dividends when it comes to finding new job opportunities. More than ever companies are requiring you to hit the ground running on certain programs especially if they have just won a big project”.
We also offer an Interior Design Software course which can help you to use the most common platforms – AutoCAD, SketchUp and Photoshop. The course is held online via Zoom or in our Dubai studio. You get 6 AutoCAD classes, 5 on SketchUp and a 1 day workshop covering Photoshop techniques. NDA students receive a discount on the course fee. Click here for details.
Virtual Reality
In the pandemic-era we’ve also come to rely heavily on virtual meeting software such as Zoom, Teams and Skype. Not everyone is comfortable with being on camera but if you’re looking to broaden your options for interior design jobs, you’ll need to get used to it! Virtual meetings have shrunk the world of business. You can now communicate with clients anywhere in the world but you’ll need to look like a professional when you do it. Our blog, 5 Essential Tips for Creatives Working from Home highlights the importance of your own surroundings when you’re touting for interior design jobs via virtual methods. This can be more important than choosing the right interview outfit as you’ll be showing your personal style and presentation skills to potential clients or employers. Make sure you dedicate a space in your home specifically for virtual meetings – it’ll be sure to pay dividends.
Virtual Reality is another area where technology is helping interior designers to present concepts to clients without having to be physically present. VR specialists Kei-Studios are one of the industry leaders in creating ‘animated virtual reality experiences’ for industries such as interior design and construction. Video walk-arounds of properties are now commonplace in the real-estate market but imagine being able to show your clients how the space could really look? Their interactive VR Belsize Park Project is a wonderful example of how powerful virtual reality can be in interior design.
Smart Homes
You can’t create an interior design scheme these days without considering technology in the home. Our gadgets have started to rule our lives – quite literally! The modern smart home will wake us up, turn our boiler on, even tell us when food is running out. There’s also the consideration of more sockets, sensors, charging ports – the list goes on! Regardless of how you feel about this level of technological intervention in our lives, any interior designer worth their salt will have a good understanding of smart home systems and have some clever tricks up their sleeve for integrating our day-to-day digital devices into our home.
If you’re applying for interior design jobs and rapidly need help understanding the types of smart technology you may be asked to work with, this blog explains the most common requests from clients when creating a ‘smart home’.
Embracing Technology in Interior Design
As much as the job of the interior designer is safe from total automation, your skills can quite quickly become obsolete if you don’t keep up with the technology available. Whether it’s developing your own digital skills or helping clients to integrate technology seamlessly into their homes, you’ll be expected to stay ahead of the curve.
One Response
I appreciated the article on ” Rise of the Robots: Are Interior Design Jobs Safe?
I plan to apply for the B.A. Top-off degree in Interior Design after I finish my associates degree in Interior Design in the United States. Thanks again for the informative article since We need to stay ahead of technology.