To choose the best home staging courses, it's important to first research and understand what you need as a result. For instance, if your goal is to become an interior designer, you may want to take home staging classes within that educational context. If instead, you want to become a home stager only, conducting informational interviews with real estate companies or other potential employers to check what educational credentials they require can be a good idea. Also, weigh the value of the home staging courses you're considering with their cost.
For example, there are many professional home stagers who offer convenient online classes or study programs. Especially since these aren't schools, you'll need to ensure that they meet any home staging certification or accreditation standards set by your country or region. Otherwise, any money you spend on home staging courses won't be worth the cost. Also realize that if you decide to learn home staging from a distance education model, either through a certified home stager or an accredited school, you probably won't have the benefit of hands-on experience.
If possible, look for an accredited program that will include assisting a certified home stager on actual customer projects. If the home staging classes you're considering offer only theory and don't include hands-on training, these may not help you get the experience you need to start a career in the field. Be especially wary of non-accredited home staging courses that aren't even connected to qualified professionals in the industry. Even if the classes are being offered by experienced home stagers, books and DVDs to teach you theory may not be worth the cost if you won't receive proper certification, as you could likely research the same information yourself for free.
Home staging classes or programs that offer training by allowing you to assist on real projects may give you enough beginning experience in the field, along with the required education, to get the type of work you want upon completion of the courses. Again, it's important to research ahead what taking the home staging courses is likely to do for your career in the field to avoid disappointment and wasting your money. Another idea for getting additional hands-on experience is to check with reputable home staging businesses in your area who aren't selling courses, but may be able to offer you work as an assistant while you're learning class material elsewhere.
