Determine if Event Planning Education or Training is Right for You
Up until recently, event planning wasn't really considered by most people to be an actual career path. Special events were planned by volunteers and committees with only a few paid positions, and corporate events, meetings, and incentives were passed off to the marketing department or an administrative assistant.
As a result, there also wasn't any formal training. Most of us had to learn by the school of hard knocks - sink or swim, learn as you go. As more and more companies learn the value of professionally organized events, however, there is an increasing number of opportunities for formal training in event planning.
However, the industry is still evolving, and you need to consider your particular situation and goals before deciding whether training or schooling is necessary for you. As you read on the "Event Jobs" and "Career Planning" pages, event planning education is not always necessary to starting your event planning career.
Where you are in life and your exact career goals will determine whether you should invest your time and money in event planning education. You also need to do a lot of reading to learn the lingo and some of the basics of planning. If you're not disciplined at being self-motivated or self-teaching, then event planning courses might prove very helpful for you.
The point of this page is to emphasize that, unlike in other industries, education is not required to begin a career in event planning. However, if you have the time and money, education is always the best route to take to start a long successful career in any chosen field!
Should I pursue further education?
The steps below are merely an outline to guide you in the right direction. Whether you are able to check off only a few items or all of them, only you can decide what path is best for you.
You should consider taking event planning courses if you:
are young and have not yet finished college, or are a recent graduate and are not sure of your career path
have no event planning experience at all
are seriously considering a life-long career in event planning
know that you want to work as an event planner (and not just one of the many support roles in event planning)
think that you might want to start your own event planning company someday
need a structured environment in which to learn
have the time and money to invest
You might not need to take event planning courses if you:
have already graduated from college and been in the workforce for a few years
have any event planning experience
only want to "dabble" in event planning to see if you like it
are only interested in working for a DMC, a catering company, or as an on-site event manager, and are most likely not interested in starting your own event planning company
are a good self-taught learner
have no time or money to spare
If you are self-motivated and learn easily by reading, there are a number of books and magazines to help you understand the industry.
Click here
to go to the Event Planning Resources page.
And finally, if you've decided you would like to pursue further education to ensure your success in event planning, you have a number of options:
Event Planning Schools:
There are actual universities that offer event planning as a major, and also many event planning online training opportunities.
Event Planning Certification:
Certification offers a compromise; you can get your certification online or in a weekend. However, most certifications require that you have some planning experience.
If you are still unsure of the right steps to take for you, find a mentor or call one of the many planners in your area and ask for an informational interview. If you're not sure if you'll even enjoy planning, I highly suggest you follow the steps on the
Career Planning
page, and volunteer for an event first.
Choosing your career path is a big decision; but follow your heart and you can't go wrong!
I'm just starting college (or am still in college). What courses should I take?
First of all, if you are just starting or are in the middle of your college career, congratulations for planning out your career this far in advance! Your proactive approach toward researching your options this early shows that you are already cut out for success.
So if you know you want to pursue a career in events, what should you do?
First of all, it's important to realize that event planning is not like many other fields; what your degree is in will not make or break you. It's not like becoming a doctor,or a teacher, or an engineer; your degree is relatively insignificant. However, it IS important to HAVE a degree; so definitely go to school!
However, since you do need a degree, you might as well pursue education that will help with your future. Therefore, I suggest the following:
If you have a "second runner up" passion or desire for a career, then take courses that will assist with that choice. For example, if you want to be an event planner OR a writer, then pursue a degree in Journalism. If you want to be an event planner OR a teacher, then pursue classes in education. That way, if your event planning career doesn't pan out for any reason, then you are ready to pursue your second choice career.
If you have your heart set on becoming an event planner, then I would strongly encourage you to pursue a degree in Business, with a minor in Marketing. I suggest this for two reasons:
Many people who go into event planning eventually decide to open their own business; therefore a Business degree will prove essential.
If, again, event planning doesn't work out for you, or if you decide after fifteen years of the business to go in another direction, a Business degree applies to just about any career path you might someday choose.
Similarly, a Communications degree would be a good choice. Although not as widely applicable as a Business degree, a Communications degree would create a good foundation which would prove useful in event planning.
And finally, many schools offer a Hospitality degree. This is also a good choice, however research this carefully. Many Hospitality degrees focus mostly on restaurant management and often hotel management. While the hotel side could apply toward an event planning career, it is not ideal (unless you want to go into Convention Services, which is the "event planner" within a hotel); and the restaurant courses are a waste of your time.
Click here to learn more about Convention Services in hotels.
If you are considering a Hospitality degree, ask your institution for a detailed syllabus of the courses they offer, and decide if this is for you. Also, be aware that a Hospitality degree does not have the open-ended possibilities as a Business or Communications degree does.
And the single most important piece of advice I can give you (whether you're in school or not) is.....
GET EXPERIENCE!!!
The single most important thing to potential employers is your experience. Your education is secondary; they want to know what kind of events you've been a part of, and what your role is.
Experience is so important that a potential employer is more likely to hire someone with a degree in physics who has helped plan a few events than someone with an event planning degree who has not planned any (although this is NOT an excuse to not go to school - getting your degree is absolutely essential these days).
So, do absolutely whatever it takes to get some experience. Join a sorority or fraternity and get in on the event planning committee. Get involved with the campus and plan FACs or home coming parades.
And, think outside the campus; every community in the country is involved with events in some way. Race for the Cure, the Breast Cancer Three Day, local triathlons, golf tournaments, horse shows, parades....the list goes on and on. Nearly every event in existence needs volunteers; and volunteering is the single best way to get your foot in the door and get some experience. It also offers two other side benefits:
Not only will volunteering give you the essential experience you need to secure a job, but it will also give you a chance to see if you really enjoy the work. The perception of event planning is very different than the reality; so use this time to figure out if you truly enjoy it before dedicating your life toward it. And, if you truly enjoy it, then volunteering won't be much of a "sacrifice" at all!
When you volunteer, you make great contacts for future employment. This is truly an industry where "who you know" can make or break you; so make your contacts and get your name out there now.
As a side note: I don't want this to sound harsh, but please do not count the fact that you helped plan three friends' weddings as experience.
In real life, it is experience; but when you have to count this as "experience," it actually magnifies the fact you have none.
Volunteer and get some true hands-on, real life event planning experience, and leave the weddings and Christmas parties off your resume!
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Up until recently, event planning wasn't really considered by most people to be an actual career path. Special events were planned by volunteers and committees with only a few paid positions, and corporate events, meetings, and incentives were passed off to the marketing department or an administrative assistant. 
