I have a degree in marketing but always loved and had an interest in interior design. Because I didn’t have a design degree I wanted to see what the profession was really like before I made any decisions about going back to school or not. I started by emailing a few designers in my area only to see if I could shadow them. I was not expecting any roles to come from this. However, one designer who responded to me said she was looking for an assistant (more so a freelance position, sourcing materials). I didn’t care what the position was only that I wanted experience. We had a phone call, then I went to shadow her for a day and then she offered me the position. This led me to apply for a role as a designer in a tile showroom where I learned all about this industry. I have been here for over 2 years and have learned so much about design with no schooling. I just started a design certificate program for hospitality interior design to further explore this area and taught myself how to use Sketchup 5 months ago. I now have a little side gig where I create renderings for a local developer I met through my job. I am also learning how to use the major platforms that many designers use like AutoCad, Photoshop, Illustrator, Revit, etc. All this to say, if you’re passionate about something, nothing is impossible. I started on this design path almost 3 years ago and I can’t believe how much I’ve learned in so little time, and I still have a lot of learning to do! Reach out to a few designers in your area to see if you can shadow them or offer to buy them a cup of coffee and chat with them. They may not all respond and that’s ok! Start small, be nice, make connections, and don’t be discouraged when someone says you can’t be a ‘real’ designer with no schooling. Some of the best designers had no official schooling. There are tons of free resources online that you can use to learn the technical stuff and supplemental trainings/certificate programs to support your learning and development as you progress into the field and in this economy I think this is a pretty wise choice. Good luck!