Does Your Real World Experience Give You The Tools To Make Money As An Event Planner?
Get the REAL scoop…
All events require considerable attention to detail – big and small – from choosing a venue and reviewing contracts to juggling guest lists and issuing name badges. Event planners will have to figure out their sponsor’s requirements and needs in terms of exhibit space, lodging, transportation, telecommunications, audio-visual requirements, print- and Web-based materials, food and beverages, and more. An event planner should be very good at managing multiple tasks at once and be flexible, especially when problems arise with vendors, clients make last-minute changes, or, in some cases, when a panelist locks him/her-self in a bathroom while wearing a live mic!
Event Planning Is Expected to Grow More Than 40% By 2020…
According to the US Labor Department the average annual salary for meeting, convention, and event planners was $46,020 in 2010. The best-paid 10% made approx. $78,530, while the bottom 10% made approx. $27,410: with the highest-paid event planners working in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Framingham, Mass., and Lowell, Mass. Surprised?
Save Money AND Still Get The Tools You Need To Be An Event Planner
While a bachelor’s degree or event planning certificate is never shunned upon, real-world experience is the most important factor in securing an event planning job. If you want to climb the corporate ladder, you may move from a small organization to a larger one, or gain certifications through continuing education that can help with finding higher-paying work. Then, over time and with experience, you could open your own event-planning business or become an independent event-planning consultant all the while you’ll be able to make money as an event planner.
Happy Planning!
P.S. Photo Credit: Ohio State University