Benefits of a Career as an Event Planner

A career in event planning offers many personal and professional rewards. Here is an overview of some of these rewards, from the FabJob Guide to Become an Event Planner:

Recognition

Events involve people – usually large groups of people – and you’ll fast become known as the person behind the scenes who gets the job done and makes sure everything is done flawlessly. Event planning is a great way to get to know your community, and will help you network with the movers and shakers in your town,  your state, and even beyond.

Financial Rewards

With the increased recognition of event planning as an industry, professionals in the field are seeing an increase in compensation in both the business and non-profit arenas. 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics median annual earnings of meeting and convention planners were $39,620 according to the most recent figures, while the top 10 percent earned $65,060. Event planners working for associations can expect to earn a bit less on average — about 84 percent of these figures. 

Of course, if you start your own event planning business, your income potential is much higher, and will reflect the growth and success of your business from year to year.

Personal Satisfaction

If you’ve ever known the satisfaction that comes from working incredibly hard on a challenge and seeing outstanding results, you can understand why event planning can be so rewarding on a personal level. Financial and professional rewards are fine, but what a gift it is to find a career that pays you to have this much fun!  

Flexibility

If you are looking for a job that will allow you some flexibility in setting your own schedule, event planning might be a good fit. Many smaller organizations and businesses can’t afford a full-time event planner. And recent downsizing in some fields have left remaining staff overworked. This creates an opportunity for part-time or seasonal work rather than a rigid 9-to-5 routine. Carol Palmatier, co-author of the FabJob Guide to Become an Event Planner describes the benefits of flexible event planning work:

“I recently joined the staff of my local Chamber of Commerce as their event coordinator. The Chamber sponsors four major fundraising events each year. The job averages about 15 hours per week, but prior to each event the time commitment can be much greater. By taking this job, I am able to adjust my other client work and arrange vacation and travel time with my family – a perfect balance!”

Because of the timely and transient nature of event planning, the field lends itself beautifully to independent consulting. If you’ve ever wanted to start your own business, this field offers some terrific opportunities. More detailed information on starting your own business as an event planner can be found in Chapter 5.

This article is an excerpt from the FabJob Guide to Become an Event Planner. The complete guide gives detailed advice on how you can become an event planner, get started om a career in event planning, find event planner jobs, or start your own event planning business. Visit www.FabJob.com/eventplanner.asp for information about how to become an event planner.

Jan L. Riddell  is co-author of the FabJob Guide to Become an Event Planner.