A: FROM MENTOR JOAN LUSK IN RI
If interior design means putting up (or taking down) curtains, painting walls that are already standing, and throwing a few pillows on the couch, then you don't need much engineering expertise! But if it means making structural changes, knowing engineering - at least knowing when you'd better consult an engineer! - isn't a bad idea. Think of Frank Lloyd Wright. Admittedly, he was an architect rather than an interior designer, but he also designed EVERY detail inside his buildings, down to exactly where his custom made furniture was to be put, and tolerated no changes from the owner-occupants. Yet his roofs leaked. His masterpiece, Fallingwater, http://www.paconserve.org/index-fw1.asp ,the house built over a waterfall, has cantilevered balconies that are in danger of collapsing and great expense is necessary to preserve the structure. (A Nova program on PBS described the problems in great detail within the past couple of years.)

I've done a lot of preaching on this website in favor of a general education, not least because people's career plans change. It's rare that a child knows exactly what she'll do and stays with that plan for life. Most change their goals several times throughout their teens and in college. (Perhaps you remember having had other goals?) Once in the work force, few people stay with the same kind of job for 40 - 50 years. So, while you're in school, it's valuable to explore different fields. A broad background will never hurt you, even if you are the rare person whose whole life is focused on one career. If you have a chance to take an engineering course in high school, or try one out in college, you may find that applying engineering principles lets you design interiors in entirely new ways. You may find out you want to be an architect, or even an engineer. Or you may find out that the physics and math that underlie the buildings we live and work in are really not your cup of tea and you'll trust others to see to it that the wall you paint isn't going to fall down. But you'll find out _something_ about yourself and be that much richer for it.