Career Trends: Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners

Meeting, convention, and event planners coordinate all aspects of events and professional meetings. They arrange meeting locations, transportation, and other details.

Meeting, convention, and event planners spend time in their offices and onsite at hotels or convention centers. They also work onsite at hotels or convention centers, and they often travel to attend events and visit prospective meeting sites. During meetings or conventions, planners may work many more hours than usual.

Most meeting, convention, and event planning positions require a bachelor’s degree. Some hospitality industry experience related to event planning is considered valuable for many positions.

Employment of meeting, convention, and event planners is projected to grow 10 percent from 2014 to 2024, faster than the average for all occupations. As globalization increases and businesses continue to recognize the value of professionally planned meetings, demand for meetings and events is projected to grow. Job opportunities should be best for candidates with a bachelor’s degree in meeting and event management, hospitality, or tourism management.

This occupation supported 94,200 jobs in 2012 and 100,000 jobs in 2014, reflecting an increase of 6.2%. In 2012, this occupation was projected to increase by 33.1% in 2022 to 125,400 jobs. As of 2014, to keep pace with prediction, the expected number of jobs was 100,400, compared with an observed value of 100,000, 0.4% lower than expected. This indicates current employment trends are about on track with the 2012 trend within this occupation. In 2014, this occupation was projected to increase by 10.5% in 2024 to 109,900 jobs. Linear extrapolation of the 2012 projection for 2022 results in an expected number of 131,600 jobs for 2024, 19.7% higher than the 2014 projection for 2024. This indicates expectations for future employment trends are much worse than the 2012 trend within this occupation.