If you want a career that provides the right blend of cerebral stimulation, exhaustive work and the inexplicable thrill of achievement, you would do right to evaluate Event Management as a possible alternative. Event Management is a multi-crore industry with mega shows and events hosted regularly. In India even personal functions like marriages and birthday parties have become important social matters, and have to be professionally managed.

Event management has been recognised as a profession for the past five years. In India event management is in its nascent stage. For the last 15 years, it has been about freelancer’s managing parties. Today technology is ruling the entertainment and corporate environment. There are various types of events like corporate, entertainment, conferences, exhibitions, road shows, promotions etc. So one can choose the kind of events one wants to handle.

Event management is a glamourous and exciting profession which demands a lot of hard work and dynamism. It is a profession where adherence to perfection, meeting deadlines on time and producing an uproarious show with in a stipulated budget is of paramount importance.

Eligibility

There is no academic approach to becoming an event manager. The steadily increasing numbers of small event management companies is an indication of positive growth for this profession.

Though there are no hard and fast rules as to the qualification required to enter this industry, students of Post Graduate Diploma in Event Management (PGDEM) and Diploma in Event Management (DEM) are well equipped for careers in the ever-expanding event Industry. This is a profession which demands high perfection, hard work and a lot of patience. All this calls for a good deal of patience and more. You also need to have organisational skills along with creativity and uniqueness. Events though entertaining involves a lot of hard work and making an event successful calls for meticulous planning, coordination and training.

Opportunities

Career opportunities are in the following industries

*Star Hotels/Resorts/Clubs

*Radio Stations

*Advertising Agencies

*Shopping Malls

*TV Channels

*Travel & Tourism Companies

*Event Management Companies

An able person can work as a manager in an event management company or as a consultant in corporations or can work independently. There is also a lot of scope for creative people in this field as any event demands a lot of creativity to be designed. A distinct advantage in this profession is that one gets to meet and work with people from various walks of professional life.

Once you start getting the feel of the field, money will never be a problem. Even freelancers today earn anywhere around Rs.30,000. It is a very lucrative profession.

Joining an Event Management Company

A person who enters this field has to first join as a trainee. This person becomes the promotion co-ordinator.

Event management companies nowadays hire many young people for this post. Very basic jobs in promoting the event are given to them. One could do this on a freelance basis also. The next job in this field is event co-ordination. The main job of an event co-ordinator is to supervise the various stages of planning in event management. One can find immense opportunity in Production, Operations and Marketing which are the three critical wings of event management.

With the event management industry poised to grow by leaps and bounds, trained candidates have excellent job opportunities. It can only serve as an incentive to those who swear by challenge and change. For a successful Event Manager, the sky is the limit. If you can give value for money to your sponsors, nothing can stop you from reaching the top. You can start an Event Management firm if you have a small office space, a telephone, a computer together with a printer equipped with the creativity on introducing new concepts every time and organising skills. And then again, as somebody once said 'the show must go on!'

WHERE TO STUDY

One can choose to do either a diploma or a PG diploma in event management. These courses equip students to handle events of all types, from conceptualisation to execution. A few places to study include:

*National academy of event management and development (NAEMD), Mumbai,

*Event Management Development Institute (EMDI), Chennai

*National Institute for media studies, Ahmedabad

*Amity institute of Event Management, New Delhi

*College of Event Management (COEM), Pune