How Much I Earn as an Event Manager
My earnings as an event manager in London
Job title: Operational Events Manager
What does this mean? I operationally run events on the ‘live’ day, as well as some ‘prep’ work in the run-up to the live day. It is my job to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible.
Skill set: I work almost entirely on my feet, this isn’t a desk job so having a basic fitness level is important. You have to be extremely organised, have customer service skills, multi-task almost constantly, and have extremely well-honed interpersonal skills. I am constantly communicating, for very introverted people this job might be extremely draining. It should be noted that this job is often confused with that of an ‘event coordinator, which is an entirely office-based job.
Who do I work for? The venue where the event is being held.
What type of events do I run: I run private and corporate events and have worked everywhere from wedding venues to sports stadiums, at conferences, launches, auctions, dinners, barbecues, you name it and I have run it.
Where do I work? In venues in and around London.
How long is each shift? Generally 12 hours.
How long have I been an event manager: I have worked in the industry for eleven years now, although not consistently, and not always in this role. I have been an Operational Event Manager for four years.
Now, getting down to the juicy stuff, how much do I earn?
£16 per hour (Gross)
Based on a twelve-hour day I would earn £192 a day. However, an hour break is automatically taken from this (in the last four years I have never had an hour uninterrupted break). This would mean that I ean £176 a day.
Assuming that I work the standard 40-hour week this would equate to a Gross annual income of £30,720.
There are full-time Event Managers, who work for a venue and earn a set salary, instead of being on an hourly contract. However many of these managers are required to do overtime, which in my experience, is always unpaid. This has always put me off signing a full-time contract, despite the benefits this would bring in terms of stability. It would give me a higher chance of getting a mortgage and make me eligible for maternity pay. The benefit of being paid hourly is that it is extremely flexible, venues offer me shifts and I accept or decline them.
How much does pay for Event Managers vary: Quite significantly based on your experience and the size and types of events you run. I know people who are paid £11 per hour and people who are paid £25.
