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Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Can someone tell me about "event planning" as a career?
Watching Oprah's "farewell party" I realized how much I enjoy all aspects in making someone's day the best in their life. I love surprising friends and family with guests, planned events and gifts. I understand this is more of a hobby, but I thought I at least look into it. Everybody who knows me keep saying that I really should be doing this for a living. Could you make this some kind of career and if so, where do you start and is there any money in this?
Re: Can someone tell me about "event planning" as a career?
I've been in events management for almost 10 years. I got my start working on political fundraising events and made my way in the nonprofit sector planning large scale fundraising events. I've also done a large amount of event consulting including corporate events, social events, weddings and even a funeral. So yes, you can definitely make a career out of event planning, and there is absolutely some decent money in it.
That being said, I believe firmly that 90% of the people who believe they want to be event planner will actually dislike the job. I liken it to people who want to be interior designers because they like to decorate their own house, but the reality is that most interior designers spend the bulk of their time covered in paint. Event planning is very similar. It's not party planning, it's not pretty dresses and placecards. It's dirty work. You have to be willing to work long hours, hard days, and be the person willing to crawl under a table to set up electrical outlets and at the same time pull yourself together to introduce a speaker or VIP guest. It's sweaty, it's nitty gritty and it's an extremely hard job.
To do well in events, you have to have two very diverse sets of skills: 1) the ability to see the big picture far into the future (How an event will turn out and what the vision for the success of the event is) and 2) the ability to be not only cognizant but on top of the world's smallest details. There are very few people who can do both of these things at the same time. But in order to be successful in the industry you need to have those two things.
My advice to someone getting into the industry is to first nail down the types of events you'd like to do. Have an informational interview with a meeting planner who plans corporate events, a nonprofit events manager focused on fundraising, a wedding planner or social event planner who runs their own business, and maybe an entertainment events expert working in music or theater. These informational interviews will allow you to figure out where your skill set might best fit. After that, look for an apprenticeship or an internship where you'll be able to learn the ropes of that specific job. From there, you'll have some experience in order to look for a position.
Another way to go is to search for positions in your current field that involve some event planning. If you work in medicine, many hospitals employ event planners in their foundation. If you work in finance, think about going to your company's meeting planning area for advice or positions.
Sorry this got so long - if you have more specific questions, feel free to email me chicagocareergirl at gmail dot com.
LOL, Marcy LT, you speak the truth.
Sometimes the best part of planning is the sigh of relief over a glass of wine/ champagne after the event is over.
After working in events for years ( weddings, art gallery openings, silent auctions, group trips, donor circle parties, runway shows, etc.), I'm now enjoying life on the other side as a donor/guest.
Volunteering for a committee, or shadowing an event planner during busy season can provide great experience.
You've been very helpful in explaining it all to me. I think that opened my eyes to how it really is and I will think different about it now. Not in a bad way but more realistic way:) Thank you for taking the time to respond!
What's been said above is so true. Also remember that no matter what you do, someone will be unhappy.
Very few people can find a job in this field that allows them to actually make a living. Others see the 5 hour event that's so fun, but they don't see the 40 hours+ of work that goes into it. And they don't want to pay you for all that unseen work. They think it's an easy, fluff job. It's the kind of job that seems glamorous but is really dirty and difficult.