Olathe campus blog

What's the right job for you? Three career paths in hospitality management

Written by Beth Jones | Feb 5, 2025 3:07:31 PM

If you’re ready to launch a career in hospitality management, make sure you know what your options are and how you can best move forward in your career.

You’ll take a variety of industry-specific courses on your journey designed to ensure your success in any hospitality management role; however, chances are that you have a specific idea in mind. 

Maybe you want to pursue a position at: 

  • Chain and independent hotels or restaurants 
  • Event venues 
  • Convention and visitor bureaus 
  • Vacation resorts 

When you study hospitality management, you’ll develop the skills you need to launch your career, regardless of what you plan to do. 

Not sure what the perfect role is for you just yet? 

Don’t worry. There are a variety of options available to you, including careers in restaurants, resorts, vacation destinations, cruise ships and more, but three of the most common choices you should consider include events planning, country club management and opening a restaurant. 

Here’s what you need to know.

Events Planning

Do you love the planning that goes into hosting a great event? Are you the type of person who thrives being around others? Do you like working in a variety of venues? 

Events planning plays an integral role in weddings, birthday parties, networking events and important celebrations. An event planner works to coordinate all aspects of an event to ensure it goes off without a hitch. As a planner, you might be responsible for arranging music, catering and photography. 

Mary Partridge, events coordinator for K-State Olathe, knows that planning events can be tricky. If you’re good at getting and staying organized, however, you might find that this career path could be perfect for you. 

"Events planning is all about listening to what people want and anticipating what they’ll need in order to have a successful event,” Partridge said. “Sometimes what someone asks for and what they actually need are two different things, so I work to ensure I understand the vision of each event so I can guide clients through the planning process.” 

If you’re interested in event planning, you’ll have the opportunity to work in a variety of fields, including: 

  • Business events — This type of role includes planning, catering, organizing and developing events such as networking and social hours. Consider this type of role if you want to work with industry professionals and enjoy the challenge of creating the right atmosphere, developing the ideal menu and working with a specific budget. 
  • Wedding and social events — If you love being a problem solver who gets to bring a social vision to life, consider working with weddings or other social events, including parties. This type of role requires a critical eye, extreme organizational skills and the ability to develop a concept into a winning presentation. 
  • Fairs and festivals — Consider a role in fair or festival planning if you want to develop large events that include a specific theme or topic. Working at a fair or festival means you’ll have the chance to work with vendors, guests, marketing professionals, industry experts and more. 


Country club management


Do you love to work with people? 

Do you feel energized when you’re solving problems? 

Do you enjoy working with budgets, planning events and creating new socialization opportunities? 

Working at a country club could be the right role for you. 

As a country club manager, you’ll work hard to foster relationships with your guests. You’ll play an integral role in making sure that each person who walks through the doors of your club feels cared for, seen and important. 

Additionally, country club managers work closely with marketing to promote their clubs, oversee budgets and financial aspects of the organization and lead clubhouse operations. 

If you’re a team player who loves guiding and training staff members while creating a warm, welcoming atmosphere, consider country club management as your next role.

3. Opening a restaurant

Are you the type of person who loves to create? Whether you love coming up with concepts, recipes or events, opening a restaurant could be the perfect role. 

As of 2023, there were 749,000 restaurants in the United States, and more than 10,000 new restaurants opened that same year. 

When you open a restaurant, you’ll get to tackle a variety of projects, including: 

  • Creating your restaurant’s concept 
  • Developing the menu 
  • Hiring the right team 
  • Training your employees 
  • Creating a welcoming atmosphere for your guests 
  • Managing finances, inventory and budgets 

Owning a restaurant also means you’ll have the chance to interact with guests and visitors on a regular, ongoing basis. If you like the idea of being involved in every aspect of running a restaurant, owning your own could be the perfect choice. 

If you’re ready to start working on your hospitality management degree at K-State Olathe, reach out to our student services team today. You can also learn more about this program directly on our website.