Event Planner
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
An Event Planner coordinates promotional sales events, professional meetings and family events. Works with clients, develops event plans and budgets, finds appropriate sites, contracts for services and supplies, coordinates with on-site staff, oversees finances and assists during an event.
Job Outlook
There were 1594 Event Planner job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 52209 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Event Planner industry, which includes the Event Planner career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Event Planner jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $52,638.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $49,140.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Event Planner postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $39,705.
Education and Experience
Posted Event Planner jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 7.98% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 36.71% |
| Master's Degree | 3% |
| Doctoral Degree | 0.5% |
| Other | 18.08% |
Posted Event Planner jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 54.48% |
| 3 to 5 years | 38.22% |
| 6 to 8 years | 5.06% |
| 9+ years | 2.24% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Event Planner positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Communication (54.5%)
- Customer Service (41.19%)
- Planning (37.23%)
- Management (36.33%)
- Sales (30.69%)
- Detail Oriented (28.51%)
- Coordinating (26.79%)
- Operations (24.27%)
- Microsoft Office (18.95%)
- Leadership (17.38%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Marketing (35.76%)
- Event Planning (50.68%)
- Event Management (45.35%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Project Management (17.36%)
- Billing (11.45%)
- Fundraising (8.42%)
- Invoicing (12.98%)
- Booking (Sales) (10.89%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Event Operations (8.13%)
- Conference Services (4.79%)
- Event Marketing (4.4%)
- Banquet Event Orders (8.8%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- Event Marketing (33.48%)
- Banquet Event Orders (66.98%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Event Planner skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Event Coordinator
- Event Manager
- Event Assistant
- Event Staff
- Special Events Coordinator
- Conference Services Manager
- Special Events Manager
- Event Specialist
- Executive Meeting Manager
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- Event Marketing Manager
- Event Promotions Marketing Associate
- Alumni Relations Manager
- Community Relations Manager
- Higher Education Program Coordinator
- Administrative Manager
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Event Planner jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Marriott International (1451)
- Hilton (718)
- Hyatt (292)
- Randstad (285)
- Stafftacular (282)
- Crawl With US (244)
- Michaels (236)
- University of California (234)
- Oak View Group (226)
- ASM Global (191)
North Carolina
- Lowe's (60)
- The Blood Connection, Incorporated (43)
- Marriott International (39)
- University of North Carolina (38)
- North Carolina State University (21)
- Duke University (19)
- Stafftacular (13)
- Bowlero Corporation (12)
- Wake Forest University (10)
- City of Raleigh (10)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
- Leadership in the Public Sector Undergraduate Certificates
- Leadership in the Public Sector Undergraduate Degrees
- Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Sport Management Master's Degrees
- Sport and Entertainment Venue Management Graduate Certificates
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.