Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners

People in this career organize, plan, and prioritize the details of events while coordinating staff, clients, and convention personnel. Daily activities include making decisions, solving complex problems, scheduling activities, and negotiating with others to resolve conflicts. Planners spend significant time communicating with individuals both inside and outside their organizations, performing for the public, and working on computers.

Success in this field requires strong skills in active listening, speaking, coordination, time management, and social perceptiveness. Planners must understand customer service, administration, communications, media, and marketing. An enterprising interest area is highly valuable, as the job demands leadership, initiative, and achievement. Because the work is fast-paced and involves managing many moving parts, planners rely on key work styles like dependability, attention to detail, adaptability, cooperation, and high stress tolerance.

Entering this field typically requires a bachelor's degree along with several years of related experience. Students preparing for this career often major in hospitality administration and management or housing and human environments.

While entering the field requires a degree, professionals can also pursue industry certifications to demonstrate their expertise. Available credentials include the Certified Event Rental Professional, Certified Global Meeting Planner, Certified Government Meeting Professional, Certified in Exhibition Management, Certified Internet Meeting Professional, and Certified Meeting Professional. Additionally, some states list licensing requirements for this work.

The median annual pay for meeting, convention, and event planners is $61,160. Earnings vary based on experience and location, with the lowest 10 percent earning less than $36,830 and the highest 10 percent earning more than $101,700. The field employs 142,860 people. Between 2025 and 2035, employment is projected to grow by 5.8 percent, which is faster than average. This growth is expected to result in 16,800 job openings each year.