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 Training:
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!
Subscribe to EVENTful Ventures
Subscribe to my online newsletter, EVENTful Ventures, and receive weekly tips and hints on how to start your event planning career. I’ll even throw in an occasional story from the life of an event planner!
As a bonus to your free subscription, I will send you my report, “25 Job Sites for Event Planning.” This is a simple grid that includes links to some of the top websites that feature openings for jobs in the event and meeting planning industry! And, of course, it is absolutely free.
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.
