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Museum Technicians and Conservators

	Median Wage (USD, 2025)	Projected Job Openings (2025-2035)	Projected Growth (2025-2035)
National Statistics	$51440	1900	5.1%
State Statistics	-	-	-
City Statistics	-	-	-

Statistics

National

State

City

State

City

$51440

Median Wage (USD, 2025)

1900

Projected Job Openings (2025-2035)

5.1%

Projected Growth (2025-2035)

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.

Experience Requirements Overview

Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

Education, Training and Experience

Required Level of Education: Master's Degree

Related Work Experience: Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years

On-Site or In-Plant Training: N.A.

On-the-Job Training: Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years

Detailed Work Activities

Direct activities of subordinates.
Document events or evidence, using photographic or audiovisual equipment.
Plan community programs or activities for the general public.
Deliver items.
Operate vehicles or material-moving equipment.
Enter information into databases or software programs.
Record research or operational data.
Construct exhibits or parts of exhibits.
Prepare materials for preservation, storage, or display.
Inspect materials or equipment to determine need for repair or replacement.
Stay informed about current developments in field of specialization.
Maintain current knowledge related to work activities.
Advise educators on curricula, instructional methods, or policies.
Direct department activities.
Classify materials according to standard systems.
Review art or design materials.
Collect information from people through observation, interviews, or surveys.
Mark materials or objects for identification.
Apply paint to surfaces.
Maintain operational records.
Evaluate characteristics of archival or historical objects.
Develop policies or procedures for archives, museums or libraries.
Research topics in area of expertise.
Discuss problems or issues with supervisors.
Estimate costs of products, services, or materials.
Estimate costs of goods or services.
Create physical models or prototypes.
Prepare informational or reference materials.

Work Values

Achievement

Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.

Working Conditions

Recognition

Relationships

Support

Independence

Tasks

Determine whether objects need repair and choose the safest and most effective method of repair.
Specialize in particular materials or types of object, such as documents and books, paintings, decorative arts, textiles, metals, or architectural materials.
Recommend preservation procedures, such as control of temperature and humidity, to curatorial and building staff.
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.
Study object documentation or conduct standard chemical and physical tests to ascertain the object's age, composition, original appearance, need for treatment or restoration, and appropriate preservation method.
Clean objects, such as paper, textiles, wood, metal, glass, rock, pottery, and furniture, using cleansers, solvents, soap solutions, and polishes.
Repair, restore, and reassemble artifacts, designing and fabricating missing or broken parts, to restore them to their original appearance and prevent deterioration.
Perform tests and examinations to establish storage and conservation requirements, policies, and procedures.
Prepare reports on the operation of conservation laboratories, documenting the condition of artifacts, treatment options, and the methods of preservation and repair used.
Direct and supervise curatorial, technical, and student staff in the handling, mounting, care, and storage of art objects.
Photograph objects for documentation.
Enter information about museum collections into computer databases.
Plan and conduct research to develop and improve methods of restoring and preserving specimens.
Prepare artifacts for storage and shipping.
Perform on-site field work which may involve interviewing people, inspecting and identifying artifacts, note-taking, viewing sites and collections, and repainting exhibition spaces.
Notify superior when restoration of artifacts requires outside experts.
Estimate cost of restoration work.
Coordinate exhibit installations, assisting with design, constructing displays, dioramas, display cases, and models, and ensuring the availability of necessary materials.
Deliver artwork on courier trips.
Supervise and work with volunteers.
Preserve or direct preservation of objects, using plaster, resin, sealants, hardeners, and shellac.
Classify and assign registration numbers to artifacts and supervise inventory control.
Construct skeletal mounts of fossils, replicas of archaeological artifacts, or duplicate specimens, using a variety of materials and hand tools.
Lead tours and teach educational courses to students and the general public.

Work Styles

Innovation

A tendency to be inventive, to be imaginative, and to adopt new perspectives on ways to accomplish work.

Achievement Orientation

Intellectual Curiosity

Tolerance for Ambiguity

Initiative

Adaptability

Self-Confidence

Perseverance

Leadership Orientation

Humility

Sincerity

Empathy

Cooperation

Optimism

Social Orientation

Cautiousness

Attention to Detail

Dependability

Integrity

Stress Tolerance

Self-Control

Data Source: This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This page includes Employment Projections program, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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