Event Planner Salaries
When planning for a new career, one of the most important aspects you should consider is the salary. Event planner salaries vary widely depending on the specialty and who you talk to, but there are some general guidelines to check when deciding on a career.
National Statistics
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov) says that in May of 2006 a convention planner’s median annual earnings were $42,180, with the low end of the salary scale at under $26,000 and the upper ten percent earning more than $70,000. The agency further divided the categories, stating business, professional, and political event planners made the highest amount, around $45,000, and the lowest wages were earned by those in the travel industry at $38,270. Salary.com reports current salaries at $53,532, with variations allowed for location and specialty.
Salary by Type
The type of planning you want to do will determine a lot about your salary and benefits. Corporate event planners may make around $45,000 as the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, but there are different kinds of corporate event planners. For instance, meeting and convention planners might make a larger salary than those who arrange department and team building meetings.
Outside the corporate world, employees of nonprofits often have slightly lower salaries than corporate planners, but freelancers have a little harder time of it–they are self employed and often work more hours as well. College and university event planner salaries may be more in the middle to low end of the event planner salary scale.
Salary by Location
If you are interested in a specific location for your event planner career, you should check statistics by state and city. For instance, if you currently live in a small town in Iowa but want to move to the east coast, do a survey not only on average salaries, but also on cost of living, commute times, job availability, etc., before you make your final decision. You may find that a city that offers very high salaries also has a high cost of living and it would benefit you to find another place.
Regardless of how you make your career decisions, research and education are key.
