Event planning is an exciting career with tremendous potential. Imagine yourself in the shoes of someone organizing the Indian Premier League (IPL) or a movie star wedding – it requires immense management expertise and varied skills to fulfill such a role. Once you have decided that you want to take up a career in event planning, you will want to find out the proper education. Arriving at the correct answer is not easy as there are plenty of courses. You need to figure out the right choice given your current stage of career, preferred locations, budget, apart from preparing a list of educational institutes. Knowing your educational options can help you understand how to make your passion a career.
First of all, one should understand more thoroughly what a career in event management looks like. Some events such as wedding planning, musical concerts, sporting events are associated directly with creativity. There are business and social events that use your skills towards a completely different outcome. Newcomers in the event planning industry assist event organizers in fulfilling many of the activities necessary to take care of the people who will participate in the event. Technology has dramatically increased the importance of young people in the event industry who are digitally savvy with many tools at their disposal. Technology impacts graphic designing, costs, reach, ticketing, social media, sponsorship management of an event. As you become senior in the role, you can take significant decisions, include fresh ideas into your event, and elevate the participants’ experience. Once you are convinced of the goal, the next question is how to get a career in event planning.
Let us look at things to consider when you want to figure out the right degree for a career in event planning:
1. Placements
Every educational institute has a track record for placements. It is best to go through it carefully and avoid disappointments later. The placement track record may not be suitable in small towns and cities, but the overall training would help you find a job elsewhere. Thus, a placement track record is not the only benchmark to judge an institute, but it is still critical. Go through data available on the subject to understand what a career in event planning looks like.
2. Institute Brand and Reputation
The reputation of the institute from which you are getting your training and degree also matters. The institute’s brand impacts job mobility, recognition by institutes of higher education, quality of guest faculty, and social status.
3. Degree in Allied Industries
People who enter into events often come from various backgrounds. Some of the fields from which people enter the event industry are business administration, communications, public relations, advertising, and hospitality. If you are interested in a particular aspect of the event industry, you can even consider getting into these domains.
4. Duration
From bachelor degree programs of three years to short duration courses of a few weeks, several options are available to pick up from. Depending on your personal circumstances and how much time you can commit, you need to decide which courses could be suitable for you. You may opt for a short duration course if you need to start working soon.
5. Certification
The programs you undertake to study can give you different certifications such as post-graduate degree, bachelor’s degree, diploma, or certificate. The new opportunity in this area is the availability of several online courses. This means that as long as you desire to have a career in event management, you can find a way to step into it no matter what the constraints.
6. Fees, Delivery Model, Competition
There are also other equally important factors at play when choosing the right degree. The fees for some institutes may be way higher than your budget. However, there is no need to be disappointed as there are other institutes where the fees are low, and the quality of education is good. You may have to research and find out about them. Nowadays, there is also the option of undergoing an online program. This may solve the problem for many people living in smaller towns and those who are working full-time. Many institutes also have a limited number of seats.
Wrapping Up
You may have varied career goals as you plan to get into events. You need to understand what a career in event planning looks like. You need to assess the various requirements for a career in event planning. Passion, family business, aptitude, financial goals are some key considerations while choosing your degree. For example, if you are yet undecided in your career, you may be better off pursuing a more generic degree like business administration rather than choosing a specialization for now. Some degrees such as an MBA allow you entry into event planning while also having your options open to get into something else. If the MBA is from a good institute, you can also expect to enter a large event company and be in an attractive salary bracket. Advertising, public relations, and hospitality are some areas from which people enter into event planning. Some institutes are specialized in event management education. Short-duration courses can also be effective in getting you a job at the entry-level. All you need to do is assess yourself, study the various options available to you and make a well-informed decision.
There are many ways to arrive at a decision – talking to your friends, elders, event management professionals. However, one should decide on availing advice from a professional counsellor. This is because a professional counsellor continuously researches the emerging options and knows many more options available to you. Mindler’s career counselling is designed systematically and holistically and gives you various tools to help you arrive at a decision. Mindler’s Career counselling online can be a way to quickly get into a discussion with a well-informed counsellor.
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