Museum technicians: Salary, career path, job outlook, education and more
Museum technicians, commonly known as registrars or collections specialists, concentrate on the care and safeguarding of the objects in museum collections and exhibitions. They oversee the logistics of acquisitions, insurance policies, risk management, and loaning of objects to and from the museum for exhibition or research. They keep detailed records of the conditions and locations of the objects that are on display, in storage, or being transported to another museum. They also maintain and store any documentation associated with the objects.
Museum technicians may answer questions from the public and help curators and outside scholars use the museums collections.
- Education Required
- Archivists. Archivists typically need a masters degree in history, library science, archival science, political science, or public administration. Although many colleges and universities have history, library science, or other similar programs, only a few institutions offer masters degrees in archival studies. Students may gain valuable archiving experience through volunteer or internship opportunities.
- Job Outlook
-
The projected percent change in employment from 2016 to 2026: 13% (Faster than average)
(The average growth rate for all occupations is 7 percent.) - Advancement
- Continuing education is available through meetings, conferences, and workshops sponsored by archival, historical, and museum associations. Some large organizations, such as the U.S.National Archives and Records Administrationin Washington, DC, offer in-house training.
- Licenses/Certifications
- Although most employers do not require certification, some archivists may choose to earn voluntary certification because it allows them to demonstrate expertise in a particular area.
- Median pay: How much do Archivists, Curators, and Museum Workers make?
- $47,230 Annual Salary
- $22.71 per hour
Careers for Archivists, Curators, and Museum Workers
- Archivists
- Art conservators
- Art preparators
- Collection specialists
- Collections and archives directors
- Collections curators
- Conservation technicians
- Conservators
- Curators
- Digital archivists
- Directors, museum
- Educational institution curators
- Ethnographic materials conservators
- Exhibitions and collections managers
- Film archivists
- Herbarium curators
- Historical records administrators
- Image archivists
- Museum archivists
- Museum curators
- Museum directors
- Museum exhibit technicians
- Objects conservators
- Paintings conservators
- Paper conservators
- Photography and prints curators
- Processing archivists
- Reference archivists
- Registrars
- State archivists
- Technicians and technologists, museums
- Textile conservators