Event Management as a Career Option

Event management in India is still in its nascent stage. It is just ten years old as a profession. Event management is a process which involves market research, planning, marketing, execution and evaluation of an event. It involves procurement management, resource management, crowd management, attendees' management, risk management, information and finance management.

Event management from a distance looks like a glamorous profession but infact it is not. It involves horribly long working hours and lot of hard work and dedication. Event professionals are required to organize events like wedding, concerts, parties, trade shows, exhibitions etc.

Any person who has good communication skills, enjoy interacting with people, can work for very long hours and has a very strong networking can become an event professional for events which are not corporate (like Meetings, Incentives, Conference, Exhibitions). For non corporate events there is no minimum qualification required to become an event professional.

However when an event is used as a marketing tool to promote a brand or enhance its image or increase sales then it becomes necessary that the event is organized by certified event professionals or people who are qualified enough to understand sales and marketing.
There are many event management schools in India which provide courses in event management. These courses are generally certificates, diplomas or sometimes degrees. They also assist students in job placement. However majority of event professionals in India are not certified.

Certified event professionals are basically for corporate events. They are trained to use events as a powerful marketing tool to promote a company's products/services. But most of them end up organizing events which are not corporate like weddings, parties, stage shows etc. As such they don't get the opportunity to utilize the skills for which they got the training in the first place. Moreover certified event professionals have not been able to differentiate themselves from the uncertified one so far (by organizing events with high degree of professionalism) therefore the relevance of the event management courses in India is still under the scanner. Either the course material is not up to the mark or it is not imparted and implemented thoroughly.

For large scale national/international events (esp. trade shows), companies still prefer MBAs and not certified event professionals. Starting salary of an event professional can range from Rs 3000 to Rs 8000 (depending on the job location, hiring company and amount of exposure to events).After two or three years of experience you can expect a salary of Rs 15000 or above. Working as an entrepreneur after 2-3 years of work experience is the best option to earn in lacs and crores per month.