Role guide

Meeting planner jobs

Open meeting planner roles across the US, updated weekly, plus what the job involves, what employers ask for, and what it actually pays.

What meeting planners do

A meeting planner runs meetings, conferences and conventions for a company, an association or a third-party planning agency. The work is delegate management, hotel and venue sourcing, room blocks, contracts and attrition clauses, AV and production, sponsorship servicing and post-event reporting. It is the most procedural of the five roles and the most likely to be a full-time salaried job with a normal weekday shape.

What it pays

This is the role BLS actually measures. Its occupation, meeting, convention and event planners, has a median of $59,440 a year, and the title on the postings below is very close to the one BLS uses, so the figure applies more directly here than to any other role we cover.

$59,440 per year
median annual pay for meeting, convention and event planners (2024)
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook(opens in a new tab). Checked July 2026.

The occupation as a whole

155,800 jobs in 2024
5% growth projected 2024–2034
about 15,500 openings a year

Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook (opens in a new tab). Checked July 2026. Figures cover meeting, convention and event planners, the occupation this role sits inside.

What employers typically ask for

A bachelor’s degree is listed more often here than on any other event role
Two to five years in meetings, conferences, association or corporate events
Hotel and venue contract literacy, room blocks, attrition, force majeure
Registration and event management platforms (Cvent and its equivalents)
Sponsorship and exhibitor servicing
CMP is the widely referenced industry certification; it requires documented experience and a proctored exam, and many planners hold a certificate first while they accrue it

Where the job leads

Meetings coordinator
Registration, room lists, badge stock and supplier chasing for somebody else’s conference.
Meeting planner
Owning meetings end to end, including the hotel contract and the delegate experience.
Senior meeting planner or CMP
The flagship conference or convention, plus responsibility for the contracts that carry real financial exposure.
Director of meetings and events
The whole meetings calendar, the team and the supplier strategy for the organization.

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