Types of Degrees Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many meeting and event planning graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	471
Basic Certificate	196
Graduate Certificate	97
Master’s Degree	90
Associate Degree	42
Undergraduate Certificate	19

What Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, meeting and event planning majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Meeting and Event Planning Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in meeting and event planning should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Skills for Meeting and Event Planning Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to meeting and event planning:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Abilities for Meeting and Event Planning Majors

As you progress with your meeting and event planning degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

What Can You Do With a Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with meeting and event planning:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners	10.9%	$49,370

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in ?

This major is dominated by women with about 85% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of meeting and event planning majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	11
Black or African American	25
Hispanic or Latino	76
White	311
International Students	20
Other Races/Ethnicities	28

Geographic Diversity

Meeting and Event Planning appeals to people across the globe. About 4.2% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

The median salary for someone in a career related to meeting and event planning is $53,730. This median refers to all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to

Some careers associated with meeting and event planning require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to meeting and event planning have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	7.9%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	6.6%
Some College Courses	37.2%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	7.5%
Bachelor’s Degree	40.8%

Online Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	15	1
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	15	0
Bachelor’s Degree	4	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	4	1
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Worth It?

The median salary for a meeting and event planning grad is $53,730 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 35% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $276,600 after 20 years!

Majors Related to

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to meeting and event planning.

Major	Number of Grads
General Hospitality Administration/Management	9,593
Hotel/Motel Administration/Management	2,122
Tourism and Travel Services Management	1,133
Restaurant/Food Services Management	915
Other Hospitality Administration/Management	659
Hotel, Motel, and Restaurant Management	444
Resort Management	220
Casino Management	13
Brewery/Brewpub Operations/Management	1

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Bblackpsu under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.