Conference director vs event specialist

The differences between conference directors and event specialists 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 specialist. Additionally, a conference director has an average salary of $64,405, which is higher than the $41,294 average annual salary of an event specialist.

The top three skills for a conference director include conference logistics, sponsorship packages and event planning. The most important skills for an event specialist are brand awareness, product preparation, and product demonstrations.

Conference director vs event specialist overview

	Conference Director	Event Specialist
Yearly salary	$64,405	$41,294
Hourly rate	$30.96	$19.85
Growth rate	18%	18%
Number of jobs	5,250	12,130
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 78%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	2	2

Conference director vs event specialist salary

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

	Conference Director	Event Specialist
Average salary	$64,405	$41,294
Salary range	Between $41,000 And $99,000	Between $26,000 And $63,000
Highest paying City	-	New York, NY
Highest paying state	-	New York
Best paying company	-	Shearman & Sterling
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between conference director and event specialist education

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

	Conference Director	Event Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 78%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	San Diego State University	San Diego State University

Conference director vs event specialist demographics

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

	Conference Director	Event Specialist
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 36.7% Female, 63.3%	Male, 30.9% Female, 69.1%
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, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	16%	16%

Differences between conference director and event specialist 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 specialist example responsibilities.

Manage three key concierge brands with a high level of guest service and VIP attention.
Manage RSVP lists, checked-in attendees at events, and insure guest satisfaction at all times.
Build client pipeline by using SEO, Linkedin, Mattermarks, Angel.CO.
Establish streamline budget management process, enabling overall department to effectively tracking spending trend and ROI.
Post to Facebook and other media regarding up-coming event and/or event outcome.
Promote upcoming events and shows through marketing materials, emails and twitter.

Conference director vs event specialist 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 specialist skills

Brand Awareness, 51%
Product Preparation, 14%
Product Demonstrations, 5%
Food Preparation, 4%
Food Safety, 4%
Product Knowledge, 3%