Interior design industry: Saturated or still open opportunities for young people?

Opportunities in the interior design industry

Along with urbanization and rising living standards, Vietnamese people's awareness of living space has changed significantly, creating great momentum for the interior industry. According to Mordor Intelligence, the Vietnamese interior market reached 1.47 billion USD in 2024 and is expected to increase to 1.92 billion USD in 2029 (CAGR 5.33%). Today's living space is not only functional but also needs to express style and experience, leading to the need for professional design in houses, hotels, cafes, modern offices to experience spaces, meeting the needs of both small businesses and large corporations at home and abroad.

Market growth leads to a large demand for human resources with competitive salaries: according to VietnamWorks (2025), interior design specialists have an average income of 20.5 million VND/month; new graduates can receive about 12 million VND/month.

According to experts, the interior design labor market is lacking high-quality human resources - there is a surplus of candidates with basic skills but a "thirst" for well-trained personnel with international practical experience. This is a great opportunity for those who study and develop their expertise in depth.

Current job opportunities in interior design industry

The need for increasingly diverse space design has made the role of interior designers more specialized and independent. While previously the interior part was often the responsibility of architects, interior design now requires a comprehensive solution to the living experience: from function, aesthetics to emotions - strongly expanding the recruitment needs and job positions in the industry.

Interior design graduates can work in many fields such as housing, hotels, offices, schools, hospitals, etc. with common positions: design specialist, design consultant, project manager, 3D designer. Many young people also choose to work freelance or do remote projects for domestic and foreign markets.

To seize these opportunities, professionals need a solid professional foundation, international professional standards, soft skills, project and client management capabilities, and the ability to work in a multinational, multicultural environment, key requirements in the modern interior design market.

See more: Which school to study interior design?

The difference of the training program at RMIT Vietnam

Students who love spatial and interior design and wish to develop both expertise and interdisciplinary soft skills can refer to the Spatial Concepts (Interior and Space Design) major in the Bachelor of Design (Creative Applied Design) program at RMIT Vietnam.

According to the Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings by Subject 2025, RMIT is ranked 1st in Australia and 26th globally for Art and Design.

The Bachelor of Design (Creative Design Applications) is a three-year program taught 100% in English by an international faculty with extensive research and practical experience. In addition to foundation courses in design skills and theory, students can choose to specialize in two of four majors: Graphic Design, Illustration, Spatial Concepts and User Experience Design. The program also includes general electives, allowing students to take additional courses from other RMIT majors, depending on their personal career orientation.

The program is designed for students to start from zero and gradually develop creative thinking and design thinking. In addition to learning how to create aesthetic products, students are also trained in project management skills, communication, teamwork and context and user analysis to come up with effective design solutions. Throughout the course, students practice in specialized studios, Mac/PC rooms and international standard design software, simulating a professional working environment.

Students work directly with RMIT's business partners through the Work Integrated Learning (WIL) model - learning that combines practice and studio learning - training based on real-life projects. For example, the capstone project with the idea of renovating and introducing a new look to the War Remnants Museum or the student project in collaboration with RMIT Library in Ho Chi Minh City to redesign the library space into a modern learning environment.

Besides interior design, UI/UX is also a major chosen by many students to develop a career in the design industry.

See more details in the article which school UI/UX designer study.

Bich Dao

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/nganh-thiet-ke-noi-that-dang-bao-hoa-hay-van-rong-mo-co-hoi-cho-nguoi-tre-2470580.html