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Job and Career Prospects
Event management is a multi million dollar industry which is growing at the rate of 150% per annum with events being hosted almost daily. Organzing a perfectly synchronized, well planned, well conducted and memorable event, require the supervision and services of well trained and experienced event professionals.Therefore event management companies are always on a look out for event professionals Success of an event manger depends upon how well he organized the event and up to which extent he is able to achieve event and marketing objectives. Salary of an event manager depends upon his qualification, amount of exposure to events, media and corporate contacts. Working as an entrepreneur after two or three years of work experience is strongly recommended. If you can give value for money to your sponsors than sky is the limit for your income.
Skills Required
Event management is a profession which demands lot of hard work, high degree of energy, flexibility and motivation, good communication skills, strong networking, excellent PR (Public Relation) skills, eye for detail, strong organizational skills, leadership qualities, diplomacy, patience, market awareness and tons of creativity.
Educational Qualification Required
There is no minimum qualification requirement to become an event manager for non-corporate events. Any person with strong organizational skills and excellent PR Skills can organize non-corporate events. However for organizing corporate events a degree/diploma in event management, PR, tourism, hospitality management, business administration or marketing is a must. This is because corporate events are organized to promote and sell company's products or services or to build/enhance its brand image. A person with 2-3 years of work experience in the field of sales/marketing can also organize corporate events without any formal education in event management or business administration.
How to start
You can start your career in the event management field either by joining any event management company as a trainee/apprentice or by joining an event management institute as a student. The advantage of the latter is that you can learn things quickly and become a certified event professional too. What other people learn over several years through work experience, you can learn in 6 to 12 months through certified event management courses. Although such certification is not mandatory to work in an event company but one from a reputed institute can be a head start for you if you want to excel in this field at a faster pace.
By being certified you can demonstrate competitive distinction, and that you have the knowledge, training, experience, judgment and ability to plan and manage a successful event. Event management companies and media houses are slowly but gradually recognizing the value of certified event professionals and in the near future they will be given priorities in event jobs. Keep one thing in mind. No event management company organizes all type of events. There are some companies which organize only corporate events; some organize only trade shows while some other may organize only fashions shows, concerts or wedding. Therefore first decide the event which you like the most and then join the company which is specialized in organizing that event. For example if you like music concerts then you can join the company which is specialized in organizing music concerts.
Warning: Life of an event manager is very hard. This is certainly one of the hardest jobs on the planet. You may have to work under the blazing; scorching sun throughout the day. You may have to stay away from your family for several months. If you are not very social and flexible then event management is not for you. By flexibility I mean, you must be ready to work/travel 24/7. There are no fixed working hours in this field. You may have to work 36 hours at stretch. You may have to report for duty at 4' o clock in the morning or you may have to stay at the venue (your workplace) for several days. Organizing exhibitions/trade shows is one of the toughest job in event management. You should go in the exhibition management field only when you are physically fit and can bear great amount of physical exertion. Remember the real money in event management is only for the entrepreneurs. So if you lack leadership qualities and entrepreneur skills or don't have any plan to start your own businesses later then don’t waste your time here. Mark my words "There is either very little or absolutely no possibility of growth for those who don't want to become entrepreneurs or those who are not MBAs/sales/marketing professionals." If you are looking for 9 to 5 job in an AC environment with higher pay scales, higher possibility of growth and 5 working days then go to IT field.
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