Plan Your Meetings

Surfing the net turns up some interesting stuff. Being a wordsmith, I love to look up definitions. Here’s the job definition for meeting and convention planner from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Meeting and convention planner is a relatively new and growing occupation.

A meeting and convention planner coordinates all the activities of staff and convention personnel to make arrangements for group meetings and conventions, working as the intermediary for the client (e.g., a professional organization or a political party). (U.S. government occupational coding: O*NET SOC code: 13-1121.00)

A more thorough definition (though it reads like a high school guidance counselor’s manual) is found on the occupational site iseek.org. It details occupational tasks; work conditions; physical demands — gotta love this one — “People in this career frequently: Sit while filling out contracts”; skills and abilities; knowledge; preparation/education (even lists helpful high school courses); licensing/certification; and wages. Here’s what they have to say about that last one: “Nationally, the median wage for meeting and convention planners is $3,260 per month ($18.78 per hour). Half of all meeting and convention planners earn between $2,560 and $4,220 per month ($14.79 and $24.35 per hour). They also estimate that about 36,900 meeting and convention planners work “in this small occupation.” And, if you’re ambitious, it cautions: “Advancement is limited … and often takes the form of planning larger, more difficult events.”

Kind of makes you think twice about your line of work, doesn’t it? Yet, many of the planners I meet say they love their job. Some advantages often cited: meeting interesting people, traveling, being creative, setting your own schedules, being independent, and pleasing clients with results.

What do you love about your job?