How To Become An Entertainment Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is an entertainment manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Rachel Skaggs PhD

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an entertainment manager. For example, did you know that they make an average of $22.54 an hour? That's $46,880 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 8% and produce 12,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to an entertainment manager?

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.

ScoreEntertainment ManagerUS Average

Salary

3.7

Avg. Salary $46,880

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.3

Growth rate 8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.22%

Asian 8.11%

Black or African American 7.52%

Hispanic or Latino 14.35%

Unknown 4.61%

White 65.20%

Gender

female 36.30%

male 63.70%

Age - 45

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 - 45

Stress level

8.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.4

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.5

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an entertainment manager

Explore entertainment manager education requirements

Most common entertainment manager degrees

Bachelor's

64.6 %

Associate

14.8 %

High School Diploma

8.9 %

Start to develop specific entertainment manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Booking	18.76%
Social Media Marketing	13.58%
Guest Service	11.58%
A/V	5.92%
Ticket Sales	5.34%

Complete relevant entertainment manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New entertainment managers 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 an entertainment manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real entertainment manager resumes.

Research entertainment manager duties and responsibilities

Manage all entertainment booking and upkeep of entertainment calendar.
Create and choose music, tracks and are lead DJ for all shows.
Regulate staffing and POS locations on nightly basis.
House disc jockey (DJ) every Thursday through Saturday.

Prepare your entertainment manager resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your entertainment manager 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 an entertainment manager resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable entertainment manager resume templates

Build a professional entertainment manager 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 entertainment manager resume.