Though a bachelor’s degree isn’t a necessity, many larger employers prefer that their employees hold a degree. A handful of schools across the country have developed programs specifically to train event planners, including California State University, San Diego’s Hotel and Tourism Management program, or HTM as students refer to it. The program requires students to take serious business courses—like accounting, calculus and computer information systems—as well as classes like Travel and Tourism Management and Destination Management, on top of completing two internships in the field. Amber, a junior HTM major with an emphasis in Events Planning, hopes that the intensive preparation will allow her to jump right into a higher management position at a large resort. “Some students choose really fun ones, like working for a cruise ship for a summer or at the Disneyland Resort,” says Amber.

Experience, experience, experience.
Degree or no degree, event planning is an industry where you need experience to get clients, and contacts to make events a success. In reality, the only way to thrive as an event planner is through the trial and error that comes with actual hands-on experience.

Getting out in the field is the first step in the process. For many students, an internship serves as an easy stepping stone into the world of event planning, opening future doors for permanent employment and allowing interns to network within the industry. “I know a few people who have been hired into high-level management positions by the hotels they interned at,” says Amber.

Entry-level planners will have varying experiences in their first positions, depending on the type of company where they find employment. At a large company, as Amber hopes to work with upon graduation, there are corporate benefits and security; for Hollis, owning her own boutique firm is ideal. “There might not be as many perks, but it’s all hands-on. One day you’ll be working on design, another production, another the business aspect. I love the laid back environment…nothing beats wearing jeans to the office as far as I’m concerned.”