Archivist vs assistant archivist

The differences between archivists and assistant archivists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an archivist and an assistant archivist. Additionally, an assistant archivist has an average salary of $48,569, which is higher than the $47,145 average annual salary of an archivist.

The top three skills for an archivist include archival collections, online database and archival materials. The most important skills for an assistant archivist are archival collections, reference services, and historical materials.

Archivist vs assistant archivist overview

	Archivist	Assistant Archivist
Yearly salary	$47,145	$48,569
Hourly rate	$22.67	$23.35
Growth rate	12%	12%
Number of jobs	449	151
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

Archivist vs assistant archivist salary

Archivists and assistant archivists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Archivist	Assistant Archivist
Average salary	$47,145	$48,569
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $94,000	Between $23,000 And $98,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	-
Highest paying state	Alaska	-
Best paying company	Apple	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between archivist and assistant archivist education

There are a few differences between an archivist and an assistant archivist in terms of educational background:

	Archivist	Assistant Archivist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Most common major	History	History
Most common college	Harvard University	Harvard University

Archivist vs assistant archivist demographics

Here are the differences between archivists' and assistant archivists' demographics:

	Archivist	Assistant Archivist
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 43.1% Female, 56.9%	Male, 45.0% Female, 55.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.3% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.3% Asian, 5.1% White, 76.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%	Black or African American, 5.1% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.1% Asian, 4.9% White, 77.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	13%	13%

Differences between archivist and assistant archivist duties and responsibilities

Archivist example responsibilities.

Create EAD and DACS compliant finding aids for new and existing collections.
Update online database with metadata on newly accession materials and implement new physical arrangement system for archival collections.
Develop a custom RDF metadata model for archiving and cataloging multimedia digital artworks in the library's digital asset management system.
Enter website content, adding basic HTML coding.
Use EAD for collection processing and organization of metadata.
Encode multiple finding aids in EAD including faculty biographical files.

Assistant archivist example responsibilities.

Perform physical processing and cataloging of rare books.
Create EAD and DACS compliant finding aids for entire archival collection.
Transpose institutional history into DACS compliant CMS.
Make MARC records and finding aids accessible online and locally, and make sure potential users are aware of their availability
Monitor all data for accuracy and notify appropriate personnel of need corrections ensuring successful FDA audits.
Create correspondences/completed FDA forms/maintain submission calendars/review submission documents.

Archivist vs assistant archivist skills

Common archivist skills

Archival Collections, 15%
Online Database, 11%
Archival Materials, 8%
Reference Services, 8%
Archival Research, 4%
Manuscript Collections, 4%

Common assistant archivist skills

Archival Collections, 15%
Reference Services, 12%
Historical Materials, 11%
Digital Assets, 9%
Cataloging, 8%
Adobe Photoshop, 6%

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Archivist vs Assistant Archivist

Updated January 8, 2025

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