Conference director vs event planner

The differences between conference directors and event planners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a conference director and an event planner. Additionally, a conference director has an average salary of $64,405, which is higher than the $51,542 average annual salary of an event planner.

The top three skills for a conference director include conference logistics, sponsorship packages and event planning. The most important skills for an event planner are customer service, vendor contracts, and plan events.

Conference director vs event planner overview

	Conference Director	Event Planner
Yearly salary	$64,405	$51,542
Hourly rate	$30.96	$24.78
Growth rate	18%	18%
Number of jobs	5,250	19,793
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 78%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	2	2

Conference director vs event planner salary

Conference directors and event planners have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Conference Director	Event Planner
Average salary	$64,405	$51,542
Salary range	Between $41,000 And $99,000	Between $35,000 And $74,000
Highest paying City	-	Stamford, CT
Highest paying state	-	Connecticut
Best paying company	-	Intelliswift
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between conference director and event planner education

There are a few differences between a conference director and an event planner in terms of educational background:

	Conference Director	Event Planner
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 78%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	San Diego State University	San Diego State University

Conference director vs event planner demographics

Here are the differences between conference directors' and event planners' demographics:

	Conference Director	Event Planner
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 36.7% Female, 63.3%	Male, 22.4% Female, 77.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 5.8% White, 61.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 5.9% White, 61.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	16%	16%

Differences between conference director and event planner duties and responsibilities

Conference director example responsibilities.

Manage development of all CRM communications and materials.
Provide wine education for hotel staff and sales presentations to food and beverage executives.
Cause marketing fundraising events including film screenings, concerts and private donor VIP dinners.
Enrich social media intranet with bulletins on giveaways, surveys, and upcoming events.
Develop banquet menus, pricing, special food offerings and theme party menus with culinary staff.
Collaborate with marketing department on client ad sweepstakes, giveaways, logo usage and client branding.

Event planner example responsibilities.

Manage client RFP s, develop detailed proposals & client pitches.
Produce, implement, and manage sales lead forms and online surveys to determine overall ROI.
Manage VIP & bottle service, sell tickets, hire promoters, promotional models, disc jockeys & staff for venues.
Manage and ship all marketing and advertising kits and giveaways for career fairs, on-campus presentations, final rounds and orientations.
Coordinate and host successful client seminars, creating invitations and promotional materials, booking venues, and selecting guest speakers.
Coordinate travel arrangements, including booking airfare, hotel and transportation.

Conference director vs event planner skills

Common conference director skills

Conference Logistics, 14%
Sponsorship Packages, 8%
Event Planning, 8%
Conference Planning, 6%
Content Development, 5%
Audio Visual, 5%

Common event planner skills

Customer Service, 15%
Vendor Contracts, 12%
Plan Events, 8%
Event Management, 6%
PowerPoint, 5%
Event Logistics, 3%