My college freshman told me she would like to be an event planner or stylist (ala grownish?)

[Anonymous]

She can be whoever she wants after she finishes college.

[Anonymous]

I know some corporate event planners. They get tons of perks (comped hotel rooms, catering freebies, etc). Does she have the right personality? It is a stressful job. You have to be well organized/detail-oriented. You will be working with a fair number of demanding/anxious clients (over their wedding/launch/etc). But for the right person (who is more into business than scholarship, very social, can manage vendors and clients), it can work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Why is she going to college at all?

Same reason my aunt went to college who owns an event planning company that is nationwide, bigger than most businesses that you think require an education yet her company employs hundreds of people plus thousands of contractors.

People hear event planner and think of someone who plans an 8 year old birthday party but understand most of their events are multi-million dollar events.

Who do you think plans Apple launch events? Political Conventions etc?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Why is she going to college at all?

I suppose you don't believe in an educated public eh?

[Anonymous]

Every commercial, TV show, film has a stylist. What's wrong with that? Successful events have planners. What's wrong with these choices?

[Anonymous]

im Assuming this post is a not so subtle dig at event planners and stylists. Great, so we are gate keeping college now? Adult life is full of people who have jobs that don’t require a college degree - but college is good for everyone. Affordability, is the second question. But to assume that you can’t make a good living in event planning or fashion (some offshoot of stylist) is myopic and untrue. Event planning is a big component of a lot of political and non-profit jobs, and there are devoted positions for events (it’s usually called marketing) in big law firms, it’s not just wedding planning.

[Anonymous]

Op, you say you don't know what to say, or whether to say something at all. In general, you can have a conversation:

D: I want to be an event planner.
M: Oh yeah? What piqued your interest in that?
D: Blah blah blah
M: Neat! What kind of skills do you think you need in that business?
D: Blah blah
M: Cool, let me know if you'd like to talk more details about courses, etc. Do you know anyone who's an event planner? I wonder what might be good to do in the summer to check out the field...

Etc. As a college frosh she has a lot of time to figure things out. But she needs to learn to figure them out herself.

[Anonymous]

Yes, and? Sounds great.

I work in event planning at a university. I make over $100K a year, and have met some amazing people and celebrities are part of my job.

Every industry has events: think tanks, universities, government agencies, law firms, humanitarian organizations. People get paid to plan those parties.

See how that works?

She needs to pursue a degree in a field like marketing, communications, business, hospitality, or similar. She needs to get internships and pursue volunteer opportunities for event planning firms, or specific charity events. She needs to hustle; just like any other industry.

[Anonymous]

In the DC area, there are tons of professional societies which have annual meetings each year. And if the group is well paid (like medical speciality societies, lawyers) the events are held in very nice places.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not sure how to respond if at all.

My SIL is an event planner and does very well for herself. Makes low-6 figures/year (200s) working for high end clients/companies. She's new to the game and likely will make more as she gets more seasoned.

[Anonymous]

If that's what she wants to do, that's great. Just make sure she finishes her college degree. I don't get all the snobbery about this. If she can be happy, financially independent, and forge a path for herself that's impressive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She definitely should look at Hospitality as a major. The best programs in the country are: Michigan State, UNLV, University of Houston, Cornell, Virginia Tech, Central Florida, Fairleigh Dickenson, Penn State, Purdue, Temple, Delaware, Drexel. Hospitality and tourism is an industry that is growing, it has a high level of flexibility and opportunities, and is a good option for people with a variety of skills.

Or entrepreneurship. Event planners (and stylists) can do quite well but to be most successful you need your own company. And if she changes her mind she'll have a solid foundation to build a career in any industry on.

Push for the hospitality. My neighbor went to hotel school at Cornell and is an executive at Marriott. Overseas going to an elite hotel school is a very big deal. Plus this is a direct line to a real career. Don't knock it. In undergrad I knew someone who majored in recreation (yes that's was an actual major). She started working for various cruise lines and was heavily recruited at graduation. I wish I had been so career savvy.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like a good job for someone in their 20's, who doesn't mind constantly working evenings and weekends.

If your daughter wants to have children eventually, then it may make it difficult to stay in this career.

I am not in this industry (am a lawyer myself), but I don't think it would be wise to get a particular "major" in this area -- seems like a dead end. I suspect that you could do a lot of on-the-job training for this line of work, and could have a more broad major (like Business) that is not as limiting as Hospitality.

[Anonymous]

There are millions of conventions in every major city in the US every year, including Washington, DC.

Most trade association (national milk producers, food and beverage, etc.) have event planners on staff who plan annual conventions. Others work for the convention center itself.

These days planning an event involves doing a lot of social media stuff, and if it's a charitable event involves working with donors, corporations, etc.

My daughter is making 50K a year straight out of college in the events planning industry. Majored in business and marketing and for now she loves the crazy hours, the social aspects. But she also had multiple great internships in the field covering all aspects: one with donor relations for a nonprofit; one with a sports marketing firm doing events and VIP relations; was very active in her university's Events Board, planning events for several thousand people at a large university.

When she applies for jobs after college, a lot of the emphasis will be on knowing how to use specific software and programs, including social media stuff like tweetdeck, etc.

Personally I think hospitality is too narrow a focus for an undergrad major, though we're hoping our DD perhaps does a great grad program in hospitality one day.

also, events is closely linked to fields like PR, and even things like diplomatic protocol offices, military protocol offices.

I actually think events mgmt is a better job to combine with a family and marriage than other careers might be. You can do it as a contractor, choosing which events to manage, and you can do it literally anywhere in the world.

[Anonymous]

I know someone who makes seven figures as an "event planner" -- However, it is a cutthroat business...