Career Prospects in the Event Management Industry

Event Management is a multi-billion dollar industry, growing rapidly, with conferences, meetings, trade shows and social events hosted regularly all over the world. Given the tens of millions of events that take place world wide annually, it’s no wonder that Event Management is one of the fastest growing professions today, with a range of part-time and full-time opportunities. In a recent report on career opportunities, U.S. News & World Report ranked Event Planning in their Top 50 Careers across all professions.

A fast growing job market

Just look around you, and you'll quickly notice the sheer number of small and large scale events that take place every single day. But don’t take our word for it, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (under the United States Department of Labor),  says it all -
 

Employment of meeting and convention planners is expected to grow 16 percent over the 2008-18 decade, which is faster than the average for all occupations. As businesses and organizations become increasingly international, meetings and conventions become even more important.
 - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

What’s more, this explosive growth is not limited to just individuals within the industry. Given the fast pace of growth in the industry and the scarcity of quality educational programs, opportunities are now open to experienced as wells as professionals looking to switch careers into this dynamic profession.
 

People with a variety of educational or work backgrounds can become meeting and convention planners
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Increasing salaries and job satisfaction

Not only are the growth prospects encouraging, but limited availability of qualified event planners is driving demand and annual salaries to new highs. According to Salary.com, the median annual salaries in the United States are as follows:

In one year alone, the total number of meetings held in the United States was almost 1 million, according to a Meetings Market Report conducted by Market Probe International Inc. for Meetings & Conventions magazine. The same report showed that organizations spent a total of $40.8 billion on meetings that same year.

Another report by Meetings & Conventions magazine shows seventy percent of respondents feel very or somewhat secure in their jobs, and a vast majority of the sample, eighty four percent, have been asked to assume additional responsibilities this year.

Learn more about how you can gain the right qualification and academic background to build a career in this ever popular profession.