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The differences between event coordinators and meeting planners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an event coordinator and a meeting planner. Additionally, a meeting planner has an average salary of $56,257, which is higher than the $41,918 average annual salary of an event coordinator.
The top three skills for an event coordinator include customer service, event management and powerpoint. The most important skills for a meeting planner are client facing, event planning, and powerpoint.
| Event Coordinator | Meeting Planner | |
| Yearly salary | $41,918 | $56,257 |
| Hourly rate | $20.15 | $27.05 |
| Growth rate | 18% | 18% |
| Number of jobs | 26,277 | 17,112 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
An event coordinator is responsible for planning and working out on special events based on the client's specifications. Event coordinators' duties include suggesting appropriate venues, providing cost estimates and financial reports, selecting best vendors for the event's needs, and working on the client's approval for any adjustments to be made. An event coordinator must have excellent communication, time-management, organizational, and critical-thinking skills to address any concerns and possible inconsistencies that might affect the event's performance.
A meeting planner makes professional decisions in all areas of meeting preparation and presentation. They plan meetings, establish meeting objectives, schedule meetings, budget expenses, inspect meeting sites, negotiate with suppliers, and create a speaker lineup. They also need to deal with travel arrangements and with technical equipment used in the course of the meeting.
Event coordinators and meeting planners have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Event Coordinator | Meeting Planner | |
| Average salary | $41,918 | $56,257 |
| Salary range | Between $31,000 And $56,000 | Between $40,000 And $77,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Newark, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Maine | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory | AbbVie |
| Best paying industry | Education | Hospitality |
There are a few differences between an event coordinator and a meeting planner in terms of educational background:
| Event Coordinator | Meeting Planner | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | San Diego State University | San Diego State University |
Here are the differences between event coordinators' and meeting planners' demographics:
| Event Coordinator | Meeting Planner | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 28.7% Female, 71.3% | Male, 12.4% Female, 87.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 5.9% White, 62.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 5.9% White, 61.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 16% | 16% |