The Interior design scene in Singapore is rather diverse. When it comes to residential interior trade, we need to first understand that there are around a good 80% of "Interior Designers" or known as ID are usually:
1) Sales Designers (Site Project Managers)
They might have some design skills that they've acquired over time while on-the-job training when they're doing site coordination work. Most of them started with no design skills. They did not go through formal education from any institutions. There are also a small group of Interior Designers who are more design-oriented, and a little more desk-bound, they could be:
2) Interior Design Drafters
They usually are equipped with 3D rendering skills who usually work behind the scene or are more desk-bound. They're designer who has gone through formal education, they know how to use common tools for visualisations. Most of the time, they would prefer to work for design studios that design for commercial and hospitality projects for a stable salary. They might not have much on-site, actual construction knowledge or managing workers at site.
Of cos, there are definitely many more variations of scope like Interior Decorator etc. but we shall focus on the 2 main groups today. Now knowing the 2 main types of Interior Designers in Singapore. We will now discuss income range. When it comes to the financial rewards of interior design, it's a game of numbers and performance.
Residential Interior Designers in General
Most residential interior designers operate on a profit-sharing compensation scheme. Qualified interior designers working in commercial spaces, hospitality projects or architectural studios usually have a more standard corporate fixed compensation structure and career path.
General Market Practice
General market practice for juniors will start without a base salary with a profit-sharing percentage of 40% and will increase to 60% or more for some, while those with a base salary may have a lower profit-sharing percentage ranging from 0% to 40%. Since they do not have a fixed monthly salary, the initial starting point in this trade can be extremely challenging. You can be literally "broke" for the first 6 months if you do not know how to seal any deals or have no good mentors to oversee your projects. You might have heard stories of how some juniors even owe money to the company for making mistakes in their projects.
The earnings in this field can vary greatly, with top performers earning significantly more than their peers. Sometimes is no standard definition of 'entry, medium, or senior' level in these firms. A newcomer might start with a lower profit-sharing percentage, but it's not uncommon for driven and capable freshies to out-earn their seniors within a year if they have better communication skills & some background knowledge of using interior designing tools.
To give you an idea of the potential earnings, consider this: a decent project with a 20% profit margin on a project value of $50,000 would net an interior designer on a 50-50% split with the company would receive a cool $5K at the end of the project. This process could take about 2-3 months, and every project is different in terms of value, duration, and profit margins.
So if you're only able to complete only 5 projects in a year, you are probably only earning an average of approx. $2K/month. While many may not make it in this space, there are many records of decent performers bringing home $40K - 70K annually (Avg. $3K - $6K/ month). Top performers, on the other hand, can earn between $100K - $150K a year, (Avg. $8K - $15K/ month) or even more.
It's important to note that this applies to residential interior designers, often working on a profit-sharing basis. Qualified interior designers working in commercial spaces, hospitality projects or architectural studios usually have a more standard corporate fixed compensation structure and career path.
So, is interior design a good lucrative career path? Well, if you're a creative individual and have a passion for beautiful spaces, then it just might be your dream career. Stay tuned for our next blog post where we'll delve deeper into why interior design is a good career to pursue and how you can work anywhere, work lesser and enjoy the lucrative returns.
Meanwhile, you might want to understand more about the 4 different types of Interior Designers in Singapore.
Until then, keep those creative juices flowing!
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