Diving Into Interior Design Head-First

Juyun Yim is making a career change with confidence

Juyun Yim

While being a pharmacist is challenging work, Juyun Yim wants a career where she can express her creativity. Getting her feet wet with a drafting class, Yim is ready to fully transition into a more creatively demanding position with the Certificate Program in Interior Design and Interior Architecture. "I just tried a class and really loved it, so I kept moving forward." Two-thirds of the way through the curriculum, Yim is developing her modern aesthetic.

Making a career change can be difficult. How has this certificate helped in this transition?
My fellow students; the interactions with them is probably one of the best parts of the program. There are so many different kinds of people and they each have a different style—a different train of thought. We work together on group projects and come up with ideas and help each other out. I think it's really broadened my mind as a human being, not just as a designer.

Any favorite classes thus far?
One of my favorite classes is the one I'm taking now: Building Components and Systems for Interior Architecture. It's a little bit technical, but I feel like I'm finally able to really understand buildings and structure. Even though we design spaces in our other classes, I just have a much better understanding of what I'm actually doing.

As a career-changer, what advice would you give to someone thinking about making a change?
I would tell them not to be afraid. I think a lot of us come in feeling very vulnerable, feeling very unsure. But we're all kind of in the same boat. And you know you can get through it. You don't have to be this master artist.