When preparing for a different career, one of the most weighty aspects you must consider is the salary. Meeting planner incomes vary broadly depending on the specialty and who you talk to, but there are a number of common guidelines to check when deciding on a career.
National Statistics
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.Bls.Gov) reports that in May of 2006 a convention planner’s median annual wages were $42,180, with the bottom end of the income scale at under $26,000 and the upper ten percent making more than $70,000. The agency further separated the specialties, stating business, professional, and political event planners made the highest amount, around $45,000, and the lowest wages were earned by persons in the travel industry at $38,270. Salary.Com reports current salaries at $53,532, with variations allowed for location and category.
Salary by Type
The type of planning you would like to do will determine a lot vis–vis your income and benefits. Corporate Meeting planners can get paid around $45,000 as the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, but there are diverse types of corporate event planners. For example, meeting and convention planners could make a bigger salary than those who put together department and team building meetings.
Outside the corporate world, employees of nonprofits often have a little lesser salaries than corporate planners, but freelancers experience a more arduous time — they are self employed and some times labor additional hours as well. College and university event planner incomes may be more in the middle to low end of the event planner pay range.
Salary by Location
If you are interested in a particular location for your event planner career, you must look for statistics by state and city. For example, if you presently reside in a little town in Iowa but aspire to relocate to the East coast, do a study not only on average salaries, but also on cost of living, commute times, job availability, etc., before you reach your final decision. You may discover that a city that offers superior salaries also has a high cost of living and it would benefit you to look for a new place.
Nonetheless how you make your career decisions, investigation and education are important.