The average conference planner salary is $57,176. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an business major. It usually takes 2-4 years of experience to become a conference planner. Conference planners with a Certified Manager Certification (CM) certification earn more money. 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 Planner Do

There are certain skills that many conference planners 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.

How To Become a Conference Planner

If you're interested in becoming a conference planner, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 75.5% of conference planners have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 8.5% of conference planners have master's degrees. Even though most conference planners have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Conference Planner

Conference Planner Career Paths

Average Salary for a Conference Planner

Conference Planners in America make an average salary of $57,176 per year or $27 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $79,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $41,000 per year.
Average Conference Planner Salary
$57,176 Yearly
$27.49 hourly

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Roles and Types of Conference Planner

The role of a conference planner includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general conference planner responsibilities:

  • Assist director pva us with the conference strategy
  • Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position) assist in providing pre-meeting support
  • Directly responsible for assisting the conference planning

There are several types of conference planner, including:

Event Coordinator

Role:

Did someone say they were throwing a party? Because, if they did, then as an event coordinator, you're all over it. Every aspect of the party or event is under your responsibility. You get to research and find the perfect venue. But you also have to stick to the client's budget, which can sometimes put a damper on the planning aspect.

Being an event coordinator is much more than just throwing a party, though. There's some stress you'll need to be prepared for, as you have a budget to stick to and don't forget the date of the event. The job also comes with a lot of research. Some of that will be able to be done through the internet, but you will have to do some in-person research like visiting a venue. So don't expect to just hang around the office every day.

This goes without saying, but an important aspect of being an event coordintor is being organized. Organized, organized, organized. It's almost impossible to be an event coordinator while simultaneously being unorganized. Those are just two things that do not get along.

  • Average Salary: $41,918
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Planner

Role:

The job of a planner is to help in forming a broad goal in society or organization. You are expected to perform findings, design, and innovate programs. Sometimes, you may have to concentrate on a few jobs like preparing transportation. In other cases, you will most likely operate at dissimilar planning forms, come up with strategies via data evaluation, decide the projects or society's objective, and generate precise data. You are also required to pinpoint the methods to assist society in recognizing its objective and vision. Plus, you must be present at gatherings and conferences and would have to form an active connection with emergency management associates and shareholders.

Apart from this, you are to compile departmental reports and hand them over to the plan manager. You need to display excellent interaction, analytical, and leadership skills. Furthermore, you must have time management, planning, and organizational skills. You must also be detail-oriented as well as be creative. In addition, you must obtain a bachelor's degree and at least a master's degree, a high school degree, or GED. You will earn an average of $64,578 per year or $31,05 per hour with these requirements met.
  • Average Salary: $63,161
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Site Coordinator

Role:

A site coordinator is a managerial position responsible for organizing events and programs. Working for various organizations, such as schools or businesses, site coordinators train staff, delegate tasks, and oversee the communication of programs to the public.

They design programs and facilitate activities on the site. They create the budget for the events and are in charge of fundraising as well. They will source vendors for the events, oversee the logistics, and manage contracts with a subtle amount of negotiation and persuasion.

Site coordinators are enthusiastic community advocates with outstanding communication and interpersonal skills. They work together with other departments as well, so they are not just leaders but also great team players.
  • Average Salary: $38,256
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

States With The Most Conference Planner Jobs

Number Of Conference Planner Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California823$67,099
2New York371$66,245
3Texas359$59,434
4Pennsylvania272$63,291
5Florida268$46,201
6Virginia259$63,872
7Illinois237$59,256
8Massachusetts201$61,691
9North Carolina199$44,909
10Maryland180$63,551
11Georgia177$49,245
12Ohio150$50,523
13Colorado149$51,216
14Washington132$68,211
15Minnesota125$50,215
16New Jersey122$73,104
17Arizona121$48,273
18Michigan106$50,561
19Wisconsin105$49,803
20South Carolina103$42,918
21Indiana100$52,858
22Tennessee99$53,374
23Connecticut97$72,626
24Oregon80$55,222
25Alabama76$50,526
26Missouri68$48,552
27Utah62$44,534
28Iowa61$43,596
29Kentucky56$42,079
30Nevada55$48,375
31New Hampshire47$53,284
32Nebraska34$40,551
33Arkansas33$36,230
34Hawaii32$40,470
35Kansas26$41,259
36Mississippi24$40,818
37New Mexico21$37,878
38Louisiana20$44,158
39Delaware18$49,247
40Oklahoma16$44,014
41North Dakota15$47,164
42Idaho12$41,056
43West Virginia11$58,423
44Alaska11$50,501
45Rhode Island10$46,870
46Maine8$41,385
47Vermont7$55,843
48Montana6$42,910
49South Dakota3$43,540
50Wyoming1$40,308

Conference Planner Education

Conference Planner Majors

16.7 %

Conference Planner Degrees

Bachelors

75.5 %

Associate

9.6 %

Masters

8.5 %

Top Colleges for Conference Planners

1. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$7,488

Enrollment

30,018

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Psychology
Liberal Arts
Communication
Sociology

2. Cornell University

Ithaca, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,188

Enrollment

15,105

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Hospitality Management
Political Science
Communication
Sociology

3. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Education
International Relations
Political Science
English

4. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Communication
Health Care Administration
Psychology
Marketing

5. Ball State University

Muncie, IN • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,896

Enrollment

15,529

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Liberal Arts
Psychology
Marketing
Communication
English

6. University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Lincoln, NE • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,242

Enrollment

20,592

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Psychology
Public Relations
Marketing
Journalism

7. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Political Science
Health Care Administration
Marketing
Communication

8. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$53,948

Enrollment

17,238

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Communication
Psychology
Journalism
Hospitality Management

9. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Liberal Arts
Business
Psychology
Political Science
Journalism

10. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-State Tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Psychology
Journalism
Political Science
Marketing

Top Skills For a Conference Planner

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, 15.6% of conference planners listed conference planning on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and negotiation skills are important as well.

  • Conference Planning, 15.6%
  • Reservations, 10.3%
  • Audio-Visual Equipment, 7.9%
  • Conference Services, 7.5%
  • Event Planning, 3.9%
  • Other Skills, 54.8%

Choose From 10+ Customizable Conference Planner Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Conference Planner templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Conference Planner resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

Conference Planner Resume
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Conference Planner Demographics

Conference Planner Gender Distribution

Female
Female
85%
Male
Male
15%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among conference planners, 84.7% of them are women, while 15.3% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among conference planners is White, which makes up 62.1% of all conference planners.

  • The most common foreign language among conference planners is Spanish at 37.5%.

Online Courses For Conference Planner That You May Like

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Top Conference Planner Employers

Most Common Employers For Conference Planner

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1IBM$97,391$46.822
2JPMorgan Chase & Co.$93,350$44.882
3Merck$80,809$38.853
4Merrill Lynch$72,424$34.823
5Morgan Stanley$72,006$34.624
6Lakeway Resort and Spa$65,647$31.562
7SAIC$65,572$31.523
8MITRE$65,366$31.432
9Sentry$63,884$30.712
10University Health$62,704$30.152