Conference Manager Overview
Conference Manager Careers
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a conference manager. For example, did you know that they make an average of $28.44 an hour? That's $59,164 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 7% and produce 9,600 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Conference Manager Do
There are certain skills that many conference managers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed communication skills, negotiation skills and organizational skills.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a conference manager, we found that a lot of resumes listed 12.0% of conference managers included conference logistics, while 6.5% of resumes included audio-visual equipment, and 6.2% of resumes included conference management. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the conference manager job title. But what industry to start with? Most conference managers actually find jobs in the hospitality and education industries.
How To Become a Conference Manager
If you're interested in becoming a conference manager, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 64.0% of conference managers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 16.7% of conference managers have master's degrees. Even though most conference managers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a conference manager. When we researched the most common majors for a conference manager, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or master's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on conference manager resumes include associate degree degrees or high school diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a conference manager. In fact, many conference manager jobs require experience in a role such as administrative assistant. Meanwhile, many conference managers also have previous career experience in roles such as internship or event manager.
What is the right job for my career path?
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Conference Manager Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of event manager you might progress to a role such as general manager eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title director of food and beverage.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for a Conference Manager
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Davenport University Summer Building/Conference Manager Summer Building/Conference Manager | Davenport University Davenport University | 03/27/2020 03/27/2020 | $20,87003/27/2020 $20,870 |
Colorado State University Catering and Conferences Manager Catering and Conferences Manager | Colorado State University Colorado State University | 03/17/2020 03/17/2020 | $45,00003/17/2020 $45,000 |
Colorado State University Catering and Conferences Manager Catering and Conferences Manager | Colorado State University Colorado State University | 03/06/2020 03/06/2020 | $45,00003/06/2020 $45,000 |
University of Florida Student Conference Manager (SCM) Student Conference Manager (SCM) | University of Florida University of Florida | 02/14/2020 02/14/2020 | $19,82702/14/2020 $19,827 |
University of Florida Conference Manager Conference Manager | University of Florida University of Florida | 08/24/2019 08/24/2019 | $55,00008/24/2019 $55,000 |
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Top Colleges for Conference Managers
1. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA • Public
2. Cornell University
Ithaca, NY • Private
3. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
4. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
5. Ball State University
Muncie, IN • Public
6. University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Lincoln, NE • Public
7. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
8. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
9. New York University
New York, NY • Private
10. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN • Public
Top Skills For a Conference Manager
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 12.0% of conference managers listed conference logistics on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and negotiation skills are important as well.
- Conference Logistics, 12.0%
- Audio-Visual Equipment, 6.5%
- Conference Management, 6.2%
- Event Management, 4.7%
- Special Events, 4.4%
- Other Skills, 66.2% See All Conference Manager Skills
Best States For a Conference Manager
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a conference manager. The best states for people in this position are New York, California, Maryland, and West Virginia. Conference managers make the most in New York with an average salary of $85,152. Whereas in California and Maryland, they would average $74,119 and $72,808, respectively. While conference managers would only make an average of $72,675 in West Virginia, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Maryland
$72,808
Avg. Salary
2. West Virginia
$72,675
Avg. Salary
3. District of Columbia
$76,141
Avg. Salary
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