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Senior meeting planner vs event manager

The differences between senior meeting planners and event managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a senior meeting planner and an event manager. Additionally, a senior meeting planner has an average salary of $58,978, which is higher than the $51,117 average annual salary of an event manager.

The top three skills for a senior meeting planner include event planning, event management and ground transportation. The most important skills for an event manager are customer service, event logistics, and event planning.

Senior meeting planner vs event manager overview

Senior Meeting PlannerEvent Manager
Yearly salary$58,978$51,117
Hourly rate$28.35$24.58
Growth rate18%18%
Number of jobs14,1528,230
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 77%Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Average age3838
Years of experience22

Senior meeting planner vs event manager salary

Senior meeting planners and event managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Senior Meeting PlannerEvent Manager
Average salary$58,978$51,117
Salary rangeBetween $43,000 And $79,000Between $33,000 And $77,000
Highest paying City-New York, NY
Highest paying state-New Jersey
Best paying company-VMware
Best paying industry-Technology

Differences between senior meeting planner and event manager education

There are a few differences between a senior meeting planner and an event manager in terms of educational background:

Senior Meeting PlannerEvent Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 77%Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeSan Diego State UniversitySan Diego State University

Senior meeting planner vs event manager demographics

Here are the differences between senior meeting planners' and event managers' demographics:

Senior Meeting PlannerEvent Manager
Average age3838
Gender ratioMale, 10.8% Female, 89.2%Male, 36.2% Female, 63.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 5.9% White, 61.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% Asian, 6.0% White, 61.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage16%16%

Differences between senior meeting planner and event manager duties and responsibilities

Senior meeting planner example responsibilities.

  • Follow up with leads and RFP's to stay competitive among hotels in the area.
  • Manage all logistics and communications from beginning to end with clients, including sending invitations, monitoring RSVP, and hosting.
  • Create and circulate RFP's; compile results, evaluate facilities, and make determinations and selection of meeting sites.
  • Develop agenda and itinerary, organize and procure all speaker biographies and materials and logistics for successful program execution.
  • Provide creative support and assistance by researching and developing booth entertainment ideas and designing booth signage and packaging of giveaways.

Event manager example responsibilities.

  • Manage FOH staff during the lunch rush - correctly handle any customer complaints or issues.
  • Manage successful closing of NYC block to control traffic flow and allow celebrity red carpet entrances.
  • Coordinate and manage maintenance, bartending, catering, schedules, calendars, and supervise staff.
  • Create BEO's and lead weekly team meetings for support team laying out the direction and objective of upcoming events.
  • Manage delivery schedules, outside vendor orders, and budget requirements for the sales, operations, and culinary staff.
  • Manage all logistics and communications from beginning to end with clients, including sending invitations, monitoring RSVP, and hosting.
  • Show more

Senior meeting planner vs event manager skills

Common senior meeting planner skills
  • Event Planning, 7%
  • Event Management, 6%
  • Ground Transportation, 5%
  • Site Selection, 5%
  • Audio Visual, 4%
  • Meeting Materials, 4%
Common event manager skills
  • Customer Service, 15%
  • Event Logistics, 10%
  • Event Planning, 9%
  • Audio Visual, 6%
  • Onsite, 5%
  • PowerPoint, 4%

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