How to Become an Event Planner

Event planning is a professional field that combines project management, people management and even creative design skills to successfully develop and deliver events of various sizes and types. Covering everything from work events to industry conferences, weddings, entertainment and music, it’s a career path that offers something new every day. 

You might be wondering how to become an event planner, or whether studying a postgraduate degree in event management is essential to working in this field. This handy guide contains everything you need to know about what it’s like working in events, what skills you’ll need, and what event management universities you could study at. 

So, read on to find out to launch your event planning career. 

CONTENTS 

• Why become an event planner? 
• How do I become an event planner? 
• What are the entry requirements? 
• What skills do I need to become an event planner? 
• What universities offer event planning courses? 

Why become an event planner? 

Event planning is an active, highly varied career path that will see you developing your vision of an event and bringing it to fruition. You could work on everything from work meetings to international conferences, music or entertainment events, exhibitions and markets, parades, talks and more. 

Every workday in event management is likely to be different and will often see you away from your desk. You might scope out a venue, meet with suppliers, test out new technology or facilities, ideate with clients or spend time developing ideas and managing people. Even at your desk, you’ll likely be in constant communication and negotiation with various stakeholders, and use specialist software to manage time, resources, finances and work packages. 

Event planning is an exciting role that allows you to bring your creative energy to bear in a professional capacity. Creative problem solving, effective responses under pressure and a proactive attitude are all essential to success, and come together to make an invigorating and popular career path. 

With experience you could also move on to larger, more complex or higher profile events, or decide to specialise in a certain type of event, offering even more options for diversifying your career path. 

How do I become an event planner? 

There are a few different routes open to you when it comes to working towards events management jobs. Studying events management at university is one of the most common routes, as it equips you with all the knowledge and skills you need to work across a diverse range of event types and demonstrates your expertise to potential employers.  

Studying a postgraduate degree in event management, ranging from a PGCert or PGDip to a full master’s, like an MSc, will help you stand out against other graduates in the field. You’ll need to train in areas like event tendering, feasibility, project planning, and managing people. You could decide to specialise in things like international events management, while some courses offer a professional accreditation in project management. You’ll need to complete coursework and group or individual project work, give presentations and pass exams to complete your degree. 

It’s also possible to work towards a number of professional event planning certifications, some of which can be studied online. While they may not equal university level study, they can be a worthwhile choice for those who have already left university and want to add to their qualifications in other areas. 

What are the entry requirements? 

The most common type of qualification for students looking to work in event planning is an event management degree. Typically, postgraduate courses in events management ask for an undergraduate degree at 2:2 level or above. This can often be in any subject. Students may also be able to apply without a previous degree if they have a significant level of management or consultancy experience in the field. 

Completion of an interview is often required as part of the admissions process for postgraduate programmes in events management. 

Entry requirements for courses can differ between universities, and may vary further between each qualification depending on the type of degree and its subject matter focus. 

What skills do I need to become an event planner? 

Event planning is a dynamic, time sensitive and fast-paced role that calls for a specific set of professional skills. At its heart, event planning is a specialised branch of project management, so developing and being able to effectively apply project management practices will be key to your success. These include managing schedules and resources, coordinating a team of people, identifying and addressing risks, managing budgets and costs, and communicating with key partners and stakeholders. 

Event planners will almost always need to be highly organised individuals with a keen eye for detail and a proactive approach to working. You’ll need to be able to effectively engage with members of your team, customers and suppliers, so good communication skills are also key. 

Your ability to negotiate, respond to unforeseeable issues and work under pressure will also help you succeed in this role. Each type of event will have its own requirements and challenges, so building experiences in a certain type of event—such as conferences, music events or sporting events—will allow you to move onto progressively more complex, unique or sizeable projects.  

What universities offer event planning courses? 

With around 50 postgraduate courses in event planning to choose from across the UK, offered at nearly 30 different event management universities, there are plenty of options to explore when it comes to building your future career. Our course search tool is an effective way to browse these options and get the information you need to make an informed choice. 

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