Meeting Planner Careers

Most meeting planners are offered not only a generous salary, but other incentives to keep them interested and working hard. This is true in almost any industry that uses meeting planners, but what might vary from one industry to the next is the type of incentives offered to meeting planners. Some industries have special individual and/or group incentives, depending upon how their meeting planners operate. These incentives are typically goal-based, such as reaching a certain level of performance.

Most corporate and business-level meeting planners receive health benefits, and many receive a combination of retirement and/or educational benefits as well. These might seem like great perks for some, but freelance meeting planners have their own incentives: the opportunity for as much work as they can handle.

Extra work means extra pay, and it is entirely possible for highly skilled freelance meeting planners to make well over twice the salary of their office-bound counterparts. This does come with a price in terms of establishing connections and hard work, but nothing is free.

Whether one decides to work as a freelance meeting planner or get a job in the corporate towers downtown, one of the biggest perks of the job is always the relationships that are built. Meeting planners get to rub shoulders with important people on a daily basis, and that alone is enough excitement for some to consider becoming a meeting planner.

There are many reasons why becoming a meeting planning might be attractive, but the top four reasons to consider a job as a meeting planner are:

1. The Salary – data gathered from salary.com, Indeed.com, and other sources all indicate one thing: meeting planners can make a great deal of money. The median average varies by site, but all sources seem to agree that salary expectations of $52,000 to $61,000 per year are quite reasonable.
2. The Benefits – On top of a very reasonable salary, meeting planners also tend to receive generous compensation packages. Bonuses based on performances are very common as are medical and even retirement assistance options.
3. The Job Itself – A meeting planner has to be detail oriented, but it is fundamentally a job for social people. It may not be possible to chat the day away every day, but one can plan on spending a good deal of time using both sides of their brain during any given day on the job. How many people can honestly say that about their career choice?
4. The Relationships – It is not uncommon for meeting planners to build strong relationships with clients, vendors, suppliers, and other important people. These connections may prove to be a useful safety net as well as a source for future opportunities.