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The differences between meetings managers 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 a meetings manager and a meeting planner. Additionally, a meetings manager has an average salary of $63,589, which is higher than the $56,257 average annual salary of a meeting planner.
The top three skills for a meetings manager include client facing, cost savings and vendor contracts. The most important skills for a meeting planner are client facing, event planning, and powerpoint.
| Meetings Manager | Meeting Planner | |
| Yearly salary | $63,589 | $56,257 |
| Hourly rate | $30.57 | $27.05 |
| Growth rate | 18% | 18% |
| Number of jobs | 1,821 | 17,112 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Meetings managers are professionals who organize the details that involve planning large and small events, including meetings. These managers are required to conduct site selections so that they can make recommendations to the committees involved while handling vendor negotiations and preparing proposals. They must manage responsibilities related to invitation and attendee management processes such as meeting registration, air travel, ground transportation, and accommodation. Meetings managers must also schedule for all managers to meet with audio-visual staff so that they can test run all their presentations.
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.
Meetings managers and meeting planners have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Meetings Manager | Meeting Planner | |
| Average salary | $63,589 | $56,257 |
| Salary range | Between $46,000 And $87,000 | Between $40,000 And $77,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Newark, NJ |
| Highest paying state | - | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | - | AbbVie |
| Best paying industry | - | Hospitality |
There are a few differences between a meetings manager and a meeting planner in terms of educational background:
| Meetings Manager | Meeting Planner | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | 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 meetings managers' and meeting planners' demographics:
| Meetings Manager | Meeting Planner | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 18.9% Female, 81.1% | Male, 12.4% Female, 87.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 5.9% White, 61.6% 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% |