If you happen to be one those people-on- people persons, possibly one who likes to travel, and obviously one who gets a great degree of self satisfaction from helping others, pursuing a career in hospitality management may be an excellent choice. Hospitality management encompasses such a wide and pervasive arena of opportunities including the travel, tourism, and hotel management employment segments that, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), are predicted to experience a 17 percent growth through the year 2014. Now is a very good time for you to start your education.
Plenty of Room at the Inn
Professionals who graduate with a hospitality management degree in the next decade will find themselves in enviable positions. Although the recent economic downturn experienced by the worldwide economy has put a damper on this industry, there is every indication that “vacationing,” the driving force that propels activity within this industry is going to be back on the rise. Individuals can avail themselves of many online hospitality management degree programs as well as studying for the traditional method attending a college or university offering such degree programs. The opportunities for people who obtain a hospitality management degree are quite a few.
What Do I Study?
As stated earlier, hospitality management does cover a wide range of different types of job descriptions that include hotel and resort management, hotel security, business and finance management and a plethora of other types of management opportunities that involve everything from travel agencies to providing activity and entertainment services. Start is to sit down and consider your areas of interest before you begin to examine what programs are available for you to obtain an education. For example, if you definitely like travel, perhaps have a flair for foreign languages, or maybe have experience living in a foreign country, you may wish to consider finding a course of study that will lead you to specific employment in the travel industry. If food is for you, you might consider becoming a food and beverage manager at a hotel, resort, convention center or casino. There are also courses of study and prepare individuals for overall operations responsibility as the director of the resort or club. Don’t overlook the fact that if you love to crunch numbers, there are many opportunities available in both accounting and financial management and hospitality industry. Here are just a few of the job titles that you could seek when looking for employment in hospitality, travel and tourism industry:
• Event planner
• Marketing and sales director
• Purchasing manager
• Hotel and/or resort manager
• Food and beverage manager
• Casino manager
• Human resources management
• Facilities maintenance management
• Front office manager
• Guest relations manager
• Corporate travel planner
• Cruise director
• Travel agent
• …and many more
Not Just the Hotel
A great deal of professionals graduating in hospitality management degrees do have a tendency to work in travel, tourism and hotel management. However, many large corporations with great employee travel needs have on their staff full-time event planners as well as travel coordinators. This is especially true for those kinds of organizations were employees do a lot of domestic and international travel.
Earnings Potential
Even a simple two-year education leading to a Associates degree in hospitality management combined with a minimum amount of experience can pull down for a professional the average annual salary of $38,000 to start. Many people start their hospitality careers at an assistant management level and, with experience in additional education, will work their way up to earning a six-figure income.
On the Job Education
Hospitality, tourism and travel industry often provide a great deal of on-the-job training and continuing education for people who acquire entry-level positions. Often many employers have tuition reimbursement programs as incentives to ambitious employees looking to gain the necessary skills and education to rise through the management ranks. Since the economy is predicted to take an upturn and there is going to be a recognizable need for hospitality management professionals in the next decade, do yourself a favor and take a good detailed look at employment opportunities in this industry.