PCMA Salary Survey Highlights the Value of the CMP

"Earlier this year, U.S. News & World Report ranked the meeting, convention and event planner role as its pick for the No.1 best business job in 2012," said Michelle Russell, Convene magazine’s Editor in Chief. "Helping to give planners top billing was their strong job satisfaction scores — and that was confirmed by our Annual Salary Survey in which nearly 80 percent of respondents told us that they were satisfied with their career choice."

The findings indicate that the average salary of a professional that earned the CMP designation is $76,225, compared to $65,609 for those without the designation.

"The salary gap has widened between those who have earned their CMP and those that have not," said Karen Kotowski, CAE, CMP and Convention Industry Council’s Chief Executive Officer. "The Convene results show that in 2011, the average salary of a meeting professional without the designation was $68,605 and this year it dropped to $65,609 while the salary for those with a CMP remained fairly steady from the previous year. The certification continues to prove its value in a competitive marketplace."

Conducted in March of 2012, 420 meeting professionals participated in the survey. The full results of the survey were published in the June issue of Convene and can be accessed at http://www.pcma.org/convene.htm.