Good news meeting planners; despite long hours, tight budgets, tighter deadlines, and lots of stress, most of you love your jobs. That’s according to the Professional Convention Management Association's “Salary Survey 2019 Give and Take” which reports that seven out of 10 planners are satisfied with their jobs and eight out of 10 are happy with the meetings and events industry. However, according to the survey, only half of you are satisfied with your salary and more than a third of you are dissatisfied with your compensation.
Although the percentage of meeting professionals who were given a raise this year remained the same as last year’s survey, 72 percent, the overall average salary for meeting professionals is slightly down, $82,769 in 2019 versus $83,782 in 2018.
The survey was conducted in March and April this year and reported on the salaries of 550 respondents. To find out the average salary and hours-per-week for your job title, or to see what factors, including professional certification or job title affect compensation, click through our slide show.
salary_comparison2.jpg
Type
Gating level
DataTable subpages
Media Image
Whatever the average salary for meeting professionals, creativity has a lot to do with job satisfaction. One survey respondent commented, “I believe being involved in the educational content makes the job much more interesting over the long term—and you can’t separate out good content from good planning when it comes to satisfying your constituents.”
salary_associations.jpg
Type
Gating level
DataTable subpages
Media Image
Job mobility is good: 17 percent of respondents received a promotion this year.
salary_degree.jpg
Type
Gating level
DataTable subpages
Media Image
That’s the number of respondents with a college degree, and 14 percent of you have an advanced degree.
salary_promotion_arrow.jpg
Type
Gating level
DataTable subpages
Media Image
That’s the average difference between the salary of a certified meeting professional and planners without their CMP.
salary_perks2.jpg
Type
Gating level
DataTable subpages
Media Image
That’s the percentage of respondents whose employers pay for educational events and training for professional development. What are you waiting for?
salary_benjamin.jpg
Type
Gating level
DataTable subpages
Media Image
That’s the average salary for meeting professionals with 10-plus years in the business.
Average salaries for professionals with less experience:
1–3 years: $52,986
4–5 years: $65,042
6–8 years: $66,802
9–10 years: $75,156
salary_hours46.jpg
Type
Gating level
DataTable subpages
Media Image
That’s the average number of hours worked every week by most planners (56 percent), with 16 percent working up to 60 hours a week.
salary_gender.jpg
Type
Gating level
DataTable subpages
Media Image
That’s the percentage of women respondents, just 11 percent identified as male.
salary_PCMA2.jpg
Type
Gating level
DataTable subpages
Media Image
Click here for the full PCMA Salary Survey 2019.