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.
Also called: Art Preparator · Conservation Technician · Conservator · Exhibit Technician · Museum Registrar · Museum Technician
Median pay (national)
$47,460
$30,720–$82,790 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
13,070
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
+5.4%
~1,900 openings/yr
Typical entry
Bachelor's degree
What the numbers say
Refit analysis ·Pay for museum technicians and conservators shows an unusually wide range: the top 10% earn $82,790 versus $30,720 at the bottom 10% — 2.7x. The median of $47,460 leaves roughly 74% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change +5.4% from 2024 to 2034 — faster than the 3% all-occupation average. Even so, BLS projects about 1,900 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 47 states with released data, District of Columbia pays the most for this role (median $74,300, +57% vs the national median), while Wisconsin sits lowest at $32,940 — a 126% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Speaking as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list.
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Top skills employers ask for
Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.
- Active Listening
- Reading Comprehension
- Speaking
- Writing
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Active Learning
- Learning Strategies
- Science
- Mathematics
What they actually do
Core O*NET tasks for this role.
- 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.
- Enter information about museum collections into computer databases.
- Recommend preservation procedures, such as control of temperature and humidity, to curatorial and building staff.
- Notify superior when restoration of artifacts requires outside experts.
- Perform on-site field work which may involve interviewing people, inspecting and identifying artifacts, note-taking, viewing sites and collections, and repainting exhibition spaces.
Tools & technology
- Adobe Creative Cloud software
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe InDesign
- Adobe Photoshop
- Autodesk AutoCAD
- Microsoft Active Server Pages ASP
- Gallery Systems EmbARK
- Microsoft Visual FoxPro
- PastPerfect Software PastPerfect
- Questor Systems ARGUS
- Questor Systems QScan32
- Adobe Acrobat
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft PowerPoint
Knowledge areas
- Fine Arts
- English Language
- Public Safety and Security
- History and Archeology
- Administration and Management
- Chemistry
- Administrative
- Mechanical