What are the Requirements to Become a Building Designer?

If you are interested in designing buildings but don’t want to do all the schooling required for an Architecture degree than becoming a building designer may be the career choice for you. Building designers design small buildings like residential homes and small businesses. 

Formal Education

Being a building designer requires that you have at least your associate's degree which can take one to two years to get. You can find courses and programs in building design at vocational schools and community colleges. Classes you will take include construction, residential home design, college algebra, physics and construction laws and ethics. You can also look into getting a certificate from an accredited architecture school. 

Skills required

You need to be interested in math, construction and design to be a designer. Your communication and writing skills should be strong since you are going to be interacting with other businesses and clients. The ability to adapt to different environments is also necessary since you may be working in different offices and climates. It is also a good idea to have good computer skills since you will be using computer programs for design. 

Internships are a plus

Since there is not as much schooling as you would if you were getting a degree in architecture than it is a good idea to find someone to intern under during training. This person can be an architect or a professional home designer. It will look good on your resume when you are looking for a job after you complete you education in home design.