Experienced respondents. Sixty-seven percent of respondents are age 40 and older; the average age of respondents is 45.
Dominated by women.A majority of respondents (86 percent) are female.
Well-educated planners. More than three-quarters of respondents (77 percent) have at least a college degree, while 13 percent have an advanced degree.
Industry certifications make a difference. Forty-five percent of respondents have earned the CMP (Certified Meeting Professional) designation; 3 percent have earned a CAE (Certified Association Executive); and 2 percent have earned a CMM (Certification in Meeting Management). The average salary for those respondents with a CMP was $76,255, compared to an average salary of $68,605 for those without the CMP designation.
Most respondents are managers. In fact, 38 percent are managers, followed by directors (26 percent). Seven percent are at the VP level; 5 percent are CEOs; and 3 percent are owners. Forty-seven percent of respondents supervise a staff.
Planners put in long hours. More than half (52 percent) work an average of between 41 and 50 hours a week; 18 percent log 51 to 60 hours a week.
The needle hasn’t moved up. The average salary for respondents in 2011 was $72,091—down from $77,000 in 2009. (Respondents change yearly; it cannot be concluded that salaries have decreased.)
Mostly okay with their pay. Nearly half (44 percent) of respondents report that they are satisfied with their current salary.
More salary raises. Slightly fewer respondents reported that their salaries had decreased (4 per- cent vs. 6 percent in 2010) or that their salaries had remained flat (29 percent vs. 33 percent in 2010) in 2011. For those who received a raise, 74 percent said it was due to a regular increase.
Optimistic about future paychecks. More than half (54 percent) expect to get a raise in 2012; only 15 percent do not anticipate receiving a raise next year. By contrast, in 2010, 20 percent reported that they did not expect to be given a raise this year.
Like what they do. The majority (64 percent) of respondents are satisfied with their specific jobs; 78 percent said that they are satisfied with the meetings profession in general.
Geographic concentrations. Respondents work at locations throughout North America; they were most likely to be based in the Washington,D.C., area (24 percent), followed by the Chicago market (16 percent) and the NewYork City region (4 percent). Fifty-two percent of respondents live and work in other parts of North America.
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American Express, and prepared for PCMA by Lewis Copulsky, principal of the research firm Lewis&Clark.
October 2010 and March 2011. The data presented here is from the 2011 survey, which had 524 respondents, with several comparisons drawn from the survey conducted in late 2010.