Museum Technician - myFootpath

The Basics of a Museum Technician Career
Museum technicians are responsible for a variety of tasks. They may be called upon by curators to assist in the day to day administrative activities of the museum, such as the preparation and assembly of exhibits, working with the public, and answering inquiries from scholars looking to use the collection. Archives technicians help archivists preserve or retrieve archival items. Often, a museum technician is an aspiring curator or archivist who is currently in or just out of school who is looking to gain experience.

How to get started as a Museum Technician
Museum technicians need to have a Bachelor’s degree in a field related to the museum’s collection and/or previous experience working in a similar museum. Any additional museum training, in the form of classwork or internship, is a plus.

Featured School for Art Degrees:

• The Art Institutes – Request Information

Compatible Personality Traits
Attention to detail, passion for certain field of knowledge, able to work with extreme care, likes working a project from beginning to end, able to work well alone or with others, good communicator.

Interview with a Professional Museum Technician
For advice on how to become a museum technician, Read More…

Salary Expectations for a Museum Technician
The average salary for a museum technician is $34,340 a year, with the middle fifty percent earning $26,360 and $46,120 a year. Those employed by the Federal Government, however, earn an average salary of $58,855 a year.

Job Outlook for a Museum Technician
Like for archivists and curators, job openings for museum technicians are often fewer than the number of qualified applicants. This means that competition for these jobs can be stiff. Aspiring curators and archivists may find themselves taking museum technician positions for little or even no money in order to gain the experience they need to be hired at a later date. Those with more specialization, education, and experience are the most likely to find jobs.

Slightly off the Footpath
Museum Curator
Research Analyst
Archivist
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Teacher
Artist

Source: bls.gov/oco/ocos065.htm