Business and Financial Operations · Holland code ECS

Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners

Coordinate activities of staff, convention personnel, or clients to make arrangements for group meetings, events, or conventions.

Also called: Conference Planning Manager, Conference Services Manager, Convention Services Manager (CSM), Events Manager, Catering Director, Conference Planner, Conference Services Director, Convention Services Director.

O*NET 13-1121.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $61,160; Middle half earn $46,970 to $78,790. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Bachelor's Degree; 41% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 4 of 5; Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +5% · Faster than average; 155,800 jobs in 2024, projected 163,300. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Meeting, convention, and event planners".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Consult with customers to determine objectives and requirements for events, such as meetings, conferences, and conventions.
Review event bills for accuracy and approve payment.
Coordinate services for events, such as accommodation and transportation for participants, facilities, catering, signage, displays, special needs requirements, printing and event security.
Arrange the availability of audio-visual equipment, transportation, displays, and other event needs.
Confer with staff at a chosen event site to coordinate details.
Inspect event facilities to ensure that they conform to customer requirements.
Maintain records of event aspects, including financial details.
Monitor event activities to ensure compliance with applicable regulations and laws, satisfaction of participants, and resolution of any problems that arise.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension4.0 / 5
Active Listening4.0 / 5
Speaking4.0 / 5
Critical Thinking3.9 / 5
Writing3.5 / 5
Monitoring3.5 / 5

Knowledge areas

Customer and Personal Service4.3 / 5
English Language4.2 / 5
Communications and Media3.7 / 5
Administrative3.5 / 5
Administration and Management3.4 / 5
Computers and Electronics3.3 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic0
Investigative9
Artistic25
Social59
Enterprising100
Conventional66

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

front of house manager · DE Vorderhausleiter/Vorderhausleiterin · FR responsable accueil et billetterie
artistic director · DE Künstlerischer Leiter/Künstlerische Leiterin · FR responsable de la programmation
hospitality entertainment manager · DE Bewirtungsmanager/Bewirtungsmanagerin · FR responsable des loisirs
promotion assistant · DE Promotionassistent/Promotionassistentin · FR assistant de promotion des ventes/assistante de promotion des ventes
event assistant · DE Veranstaltungsassistent/Veranstaltungsassistentin · FR assistant en organisation d’évènements/assistante en organisation d’évènements
event manager · DE Eventmanager/Eventmanagerin · FR responsable évènement

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Senior officers in fire, ambulance, prison and related services (1163)8,000 employed
Events managers and organisers (3557)95,000 employed
Advertising and marketing associate professionals (3554)211,800 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Technicians and associate professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Technicians and associate professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€50,992
Austria	€46,986
Germany	€44,473
Netherlands	€42,448
Ireland	€41,613
Sweden	€41,155
Italy	€34,882
France	€34,816
Spain	€29,757
Portugal	€18,080
Poland	€12,108

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +0.37. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (13-1121).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test