Hospitality/Event Management

I was in the Event Management field and loved it.

I didn't do any study, I was a PA in a large corporate company beforehand and organising events was part of my job description as well as being super organised and it was a side of the job I loved so thought I'd do it full time.

I am in the hotel industry (on mat leave) which has a conference/events department. Most of the managers of this department usually have started somewhere else in the hotel and have worked their way to this position. It may be conference admin work (ie taking the bookings, sending out confirmations etc), accommodation reservations or working in the food & beverage outlets (ie waiting tables). There are many roles within a hotel which can lead to event management and it is easy to get promoted when you have a great attitude and show you want a future with them.

I guess there are 3 options - you can study (you would usually require some experience aswell), you could work your way up the ladder within a hotel or event planning business or you could start planning events as part of another role (like mrsemma has done).

You could also perhaps call around to the event planners/hotels in your area and ask if you can do some work experience. It may give you an idea of what it is about and they may offer a role when one comes up.

Good luck

I did a lot of events as part of my work, both small and large scale.

Def agree that experience is much preferable to a degree/training! And so I'd suggest you work your way up in an industry that you want to do events in. The thing with doing events though is that you have to be prepared for high pressure situations, working strange hours and weekends, staying behind after every event and depending on what sort of events you do, having an appropriate wardrobe. As much as I love them, it's not always glamorous and fun.

Thanks guys!

So I'm kinda getting the impression from not just you guys but others as well, that study is probably not the best way, but to try and get into the industry and work my way up!

Thanks so much!

The thing with working your way up too is that you get a better understanding of all in the ins and outs IYGWIM.

Good luck with it all.