Working as a meeting planner

Planning an event for just one family is pretty challenging, as anyone who's thrown a reunion or wedding can attest. Meeting planners, who often work with large companies or industry groups, have a job that is many times more complex. And the work they do can make a huge difference to an organization's momentum and morale. For example, employees can leave an event invigorated by a roster of great speakers, or frustrated that they never got the chance to network with important colleagues.    

What they do: 

Meeting planners handle every detail of the meetings, events, industry gatherings and conventions they oversee, from lining up important presentations to deciding the color of the napkins on banquet tables. They work with the sponsoring group to establish a set of goals for the event, and then create a program that meets those goals.

They also choose locations (real or virtual) and solicit bids for services and materials from multiple sources, making sure to stay within budget guidelines. Marketing is another important element of the job, because without solid attendance most meetings aren't too meaningful. And of course, meeting planners oversee the logistics of travel, food, communication and registration of attendees. When events are over, they help conduct follow-up and assessments.  

What they need:

Meeting planners must be organized, efficient and good at working under pressure. Good communication skills are essential if they are to successfully orchestrate the travel, food, lodging and other arrangements of a major event.

Many meeting planners gain on-the-job experience and move up through the field by running successively larger events. For these workers, who may start in an administrative or support role and gradually acquire more responsibility, college degrees are not always required. However, employers increasingly prefer degrees in hospitality management, business, marketing, communications or a related field.

Certification may prove helpful for meeting planners hoping to advance in the industry. Becoming accredited as a Certified Meeting Professional, or CMP, through the Convention Industry Council requires three years of professional experience, a track record of successful meetings and passing an exam. Becoming a Certified Government Meeting Professional, or CGMP, through the Society of Government Meeting Professionals, carries a similar set of requirements.

What they earn:

According to CBSalary.com, the national average salary for a meeting planner is $33,566, with the 25^th percentile at $25,307 and the 75^th percentile at $54,706.

Job outlook:

Our increasingly global economy means that many industries and companies have workers spread out over huge geographic areas who communicate mostly through electronic means. This is actually good news for the meeting industry, since conventions are becoming an ever-more important way for these far-flung colleagues to connect face-to-face. As a result, employment in the field is expected to grow 16 percent between 2008 and 2018, faster than the average for all occupations, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Some job openings are also expected when older workers retire.

That said, it's also worth noting that the meetings and conventions are often considered expendable when economic conditions take a dive. Workers may find the most stability planning events for industries like health care, which require attendance at conventions to maintain professional certification.