The glut of home decor programmes on TV has led to a huge interest in interior design on an amateur level. The career of a professional interior designer, however, involves a lot more than being able to match the right lime green cushion with your burnt orange sofa. Increasingly, employers are seeking graduates with a recognised diploma or degree in interior design or interior architecture.

Neville Knott, course co-ordinator of the BA in interior design at the DIT school of art, design and printing at Mountjoy Square, says the degree course is at the "highest end" of interior design. "It's a four-year BA that's at the cutting edge, with graduates who are skilled in all the latest techniques - it's not a one-week carpets and curtains course."

First-year students start by learning the core elements of design and experimenting with space and the creative use of materials. In second year, they move on to learning about the layout of buildings, looking at plans and learning about the construction and materials used in furniture and lighting.

In third year, students undertake design projects, in such areas as pub, office or retail interiors and in the final year they complete two major projects and a dissertation.

Along with design theory and practise, students have "contextual studies" including psychology, philosophy, professional practice, history of art and computer-aided design. "The course builds up into a very complete insight into interior design," Knott says.

Graduates generally go into an interior design firm or into a large architects' practice as interior consultants. Those who wish to work as self-employed designers usually get a couple of years experience in bigger companies first.

Interior designers don't work in a vacuum and the day-to-day job usually involves a lot of contact with clients or related tradespeople. "It's not the type of job where you're stuck in an office. In a typical day you could be liaising with a client or an architect, then making a site visit, dealing with contractors or project managers and selecting fixtures and fittings," he says.

Although home interior design is the most high-profile, it is not one of the bigger or more lucrative areas of the business, Knott says. "Domestic interiors are only a small side of the business, but it's the part that gets promoted be the DIY companies. Domestic designers don't get paid as much as those in retail, hotel and pub design and revamps."

The job market is very good at the moment, says Knott. "We have 16 to 20 graduates each year and I tell them if they have a passion they will get a job." The DIT has an exhibition of graduates' work in Temple Bar in the first week of June each year, to which prospective employers are invited. Many students get their first job then.

The most difficult aspect of the job, says Knott, is staying within a budget while still achieving the effect you want. Interior designers must be good problem-solvers, he says, and be able to analyse their own work. "The industry changes so quickly, there's always something new. It's very stimulating."

Tracy Fahey, course director of the diploma in interior design in Griffith College, Dublin, says a qualification in interior design gives students the scope to find their own specialisation. "You might be interested in the commercial side of things doing a fit-out for a hospital or working for the Irish Pub Company. You could set up your own company working with textiles or you might branch off into film or set design. It's a very flexible career."

The interior design diploma is a direct-entry course, but Griffith college also has a new CAO course, the bachelor of design in interior architecture, which began this year. "The interior architecture course has more of a focus on architectural forms. It is concerned with the internal shell of a building and spatial planning."