We'll go into this in greater detail in just a minute; but first, it's important to clarify one very important point.  

In other words, in the world of event planning, whether you have a degree in event management is not going to be the thing that determines whether you get the job or land the client.  Yes, having a degree is important; and if you don't have a degree, you should go to school and get one if at all possible (more on that below).  However, if you already have a degree in something else, it would just be a waste of your time to go back to school.  It would be much more beneficial for you to learn as much about event planning as possible as quickly as possible, and get out there and start getting experience.  

The main reason for this is that up until the last five or ten years, event planning wasn't treated as an actual career choice; and only a handful of colleges and universities even had event management programs.  Therefore, it was impossible to get a degree in something that didn't exist.  

In the last few years, however, more and more schools are offering event management degree programs. In the future the expectations in the event planning industry could change; but for now it's still far more important that you learn the foundation of event planning on your own, and then get out there and start planning. 

So basically, whether you should go to school for a degree in event planning boils down to this:

You should consider taking courses or going back to school for an event planning degree if you:

• are young and have not yet finished college, or are a recent high school graduate and are not sure of your career path
• have no event planning experience at all
• are seriously considering a life-long career in event planning
• know that you want to work as an event planner (and not just one of the many support roles in event planning)
• think that you might want to start your own event planning company someday
• need a structured environment in which to learn
• have the time and money to invest   

You do not need to get an event planning education or degree if you:

• have already graduation from college and have been in the workforce for a few years
• have any event planning experience 
• only want to "dabble" in event planning to see if you like it
  
• are not interested in starting your own business
• have good self discipline are are a good self-taught learner
• have no time or money to spare
• are self-motivated and can learn by taking an online course and applying the things it teaches you

If you have decided that you do want to go to college or university and are curious as to what degrees would most benefit your future as an event planner, click here to learn more about event planning schools and what courses to take.

So the bottom line?  Pursuing an event management degree through a college or university is only advisable if you don't have a degree at all and were already considering going to school for a degree.  

For everyone else, taking an online course is enough to start your event planning career.  

The most important thing is to learn as much as you can, as quickly as you can, and get out there and start planning!