Occupation Profile for Meeting and Convention Planners
Coordinate activities of staff and convention personnel to make arrangements for group meetings and conventions.
Signficant Points
- Planners often work long hours in the period prior to and during a meeting or convention, and extensive travel may be required.
- Employment is expected to grow faster than average.
- Opportunities will be best for individuals with a bachelor’s degree and some experience as a meeting planner.
Earnings
Median annual earnings of wage and salary meeting and convention planners in May 2006 were $42,180. The middle 50 percent earned between $32,840 and $55,040. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $25,880, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $70,950. In 2006, median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of meeting and convention planners were as follows:
| Business, professional, labor, political, and similar organizations | $45,850 |
| Other support services | 44,770 |
| Local government | 41,110 |
| Colleges, universities, and professional schools | 39,400 |
| Traveler accommodation | 38,270 |
Job Outlook
Employment of meeting and convention planners is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations over the 2006-16 decade. Some additional job openings will arise from the need to replace workers who leave the workforce or transfer to other occupations. Opportunities will be best for individuals with a bachelors degree and some meeting planning experience.
Employment change. Employment of meeting and convention planners is expected to grow 20 percent over the 2006-16 decade, faster than the average for all occupations.
As businesses and organizations become increasingly international, meetings and conventions become even more important. In organizations that span the country or the globe, the periodic meeting is increasingly the only time the organization can bring all of its members together. Despite the proliferation of alternative forms of communication, such as e-mail, videoconferencing, and the Web, face-to-face interaction is still a necessity. In fact, new forms of communication foster interaction and connect individuals and groups that previously would not have collaborated. By increasing the number of human connections, electronic forms of communication actually increase the demand for meetings, which may offer the only opportunity for these people to interact in person.
Industries that are experiencing high growth tend to experience corresponding growth in meetings and conferences. For example, the medical and pharmaceutical sectors will experience large increases in meeting activity because of their high growth and their knowledge-intensive natures. These increases will spur employment growth of meeting professionals in medical and pharmaceutical associations. Professional associations hold conferences and conventions that offer the continuing education, training, and opportunities to exchange ideas that are vital to medical and pharmaceutical professionals.
Job prospects. In addition to openings from employment growth, there will also be some job openings that arise due to the need to replace workers who leave the workforce or transfer to other occupations. Opportunities will be best for individuals with a bachelor’s degree and some meeting planning experience.
Unlike workers in some occupations, meeting and convention planners often can change industries relatively easily, so they often are able to move to different industries in response to the growth or declines in particular sectors of the economy.
Demand for corporate meeting planners is highly susceptible to business cycle fluctuations because meetings are usually among the first expenses cut when budgets are tight. For associations, fluctuations are less pronounced because meetings are generally a source of revenue rather than an expense. However, since fewer people are able to attend association meetings during recessions, associations often reduce their meeting staff as well. Associations for industries such as health care, in which meeting attendance is required for professionals to maintain their licensure, are the least likely to experience cutbacks during downturns in the economy.
Employment
Meeting and convention planners held about 51,000 jobs in 2006. About 27 percent worked for religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations; 17 percent worked in accommodation, including hotels and motels; 8 percent worked for educational services, public and private; 3 percent worked for governments; and 6 percent were self-employed. The rest were employed by convention and trade show organizing firms and in other industries as corporate meeting and convention planners.