How To Become A Director Of Entertainment: What It Is and Career Path

What is a director of entertainment and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Rachel Skaggs PhD

Directors of entertainment are responsible for planning events and booking promoters for a given establishment. They negotiate contracts for entertainers, planning and overseeing event operations and staff. They also oversee the work of set designers, costume designers, make-up artists, actors, news anchors, broadcast meteorologists, and so on. Directors of entertainment earn an average salary of $108,000 annually or $52 per hour.

Directors of entertainment primarily keep guests entertained and satisfied within a plan and budget. They usually require a team to help keep things on track since their duties are quite multifaceted. Part of these duties includes creating and sticking to a budget for each event and ensuring a positive experience for guests. They generate new business and ensure the smooth operation of the assigned events from beginning to planning stages.

Directors of entertainment typically hold a bachelor's degree in business, communication, or other related fields. They are expected to have some years of experience in the entertainment industry or a similar role. Some employers prefer candidates with the ability to use their contacts to make parties more cheap, easy, and smooth by coordinating all of the necessary areas.

What general advice would you give to a director of entertainment?

Dr. Rachel Skaggs PhD

Assistant Professor, Ohio State University - Marion Campus

In the entertainment industries, there are few barriers to entry, be proactive to build community with others in the field, focus on occupational community for job opportunities and collaborations.

ScoreDirector Of EntertainmentUS Average

Salary

7.6

Avg. Salary $101,163

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.7

Growth rate 8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 6.39%

Black or African American 7.93%

Hispanic or Latino 14.57%

Unknown 5.59%

White 65.36%

Gender

female 33.68%

male 66.32%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

8.7

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.5

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

1.9

Work life balance is very poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a director of entertainment

Explore director of entertainment education requirements

Most common director of entertainment degrees

Bachelor's

71.8 %

Master's

11.5 %

Associate

8.6 %

Start to develop specific director of entertainment skills

Skills	Percentages
Facebook	18.28%
Business Development	15.59%
Booking	14.15%
ROI	7.12%
Market Research	3.47%

Complete relevant director of entertainment training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New directors of entertainment learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a director of entertainment based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real director of entertainment resumes.

Research director of entertainment duties and responsibilities

Manage the day-to-day operations with IATSE technicians of the show.
Manage all entertainment for venue while bartending on high volume nights.
Manage VIP host, bottle service bookings, and graphic designers duties.
Define and manage performance metrics (ROI) on sales call center metrics, globally

Get director of entertainment experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a director of entertainment. The most common roles before becoming a director of entertainment include general manager, internship team lead and manager.

Prepare your director of entertainment resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your director of entertainment resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a director of entertainment resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable director of entertainment resume templates

Build a professional director of entertainment resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your director of entertainment resume.