Museum Technicians and Conservators
Restore, maintain, or prepare objects in museum collections for storage, research, or exhibit. May work with specimens such as fossils, skeletal parts, or botanicals; or artifacts, textiles, or art. May identify and record objects or install and arrange them in exhibits. Includes book or document conservators.
What it pays
Museum Technicians and Conservators earn a median of $24.73/hr — about $51,500 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $16.24/hr; the top 10% earn $42.08/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
Museum Technicians and Conservators earn a median of $24.73/hr — about $51,500 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $16.24/hr; the top 10% earn $42.08/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
What you'd actually do
- Install, arrange, assemble, and prepare artifacts for exhibition, ensuring the artifacts' safety, reporting their status and condition, and identifying and correcting any problems with the set up.
- Repair, restore, and reassemble artifacts, designing and fabricating missing or broken parts, to restore them to their original appearance and prevent deterioration.
- Clean objects, such as paper, textiles, wood, metal, glass, rock, pottery, and furniture, using cleansers, solvents, soap solutions, and polishes.
- Photograph objects for documentation.
- Determine whether objects need repair and choose the safest and most effective method of repair.
- Prepare artifacts for storage and shipping.
How you get there
Typical entry-level education: Bachelor's degree. Overall preparation: considerable preparation (Job Zone 4 of 5).
The feel of the work
Much of the day is spent working solo; it rewards working independently. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)
Working for yourself
About 12% of museum technicians and conservators are self-employed.
Who it tends to fit
This work tends to fit people who are hands-on, organized and detail-focused and analytical.
Work a simulated shift in this job — freeMake the real decisions this job involves, then see what your choices say about you.Related careers
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Quick questions
- How much does a museum technicians and conservator make?
- The median pay is $24.73 per hour — roughly $51,500 a year, with the real range running from about $16.24/hr (10th percentile) to $42.08/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Do you need a degree to be a museum technicians and conservator?
- The typical entry-level education is: Bachelor's degree. Overall preparation level: considerable preparation (Job Zone 4 of 5).
- What does a museum technicians and conservator actually do all day?
- Install, arrange, assemble, and prepare artifacts for exhibition, ensuring the artifacts' safety, reporting their status and condition, and identifying and correcting any problems with the set up. Repair, restore, and reassemble artifacts, designing and fabricating missing or broken parts, to restore them to their original appearance and prevent deterioration. Clean objects, such as paper, textiles, wood, metal, glass, rock, pottery, and furniture, using cleansers, solvents, soap solutions, and polishes.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS. Tasks & interests: O*NET. Career pathways shown in the app are draft archetypes — verify before relying on them. Trailhead is a free career guide for students — honest numbers, no hype.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.