Archivist vs processing archivist

The differences between archivists and processing 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 a processing archivist. Additionally, a processing archivist has an average salary of $50,427, 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 a processing archivist are DACS, reference services, and marc.

Archivist vs processing archivist overview

	Archivist	Processing Archivist
Yearly salary	$47,145	$50,427
Hourly rate	$22.67	$24.24
Growth rate	12%	12%
Number of jobs	449	9,337
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

Archivist vs processing archivist salary

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

	Archivist	Processing Archivist
Average salary	$47,145	$50,427
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $94,000	Between $24,000 And $104,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	-
Highest paying state	Alaska	-
Best paying company	Apple	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between archivist and processing archivist education

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

	Archivist	Processing Archivist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common major	History	History
Most common college	Harvard University	Harvard University

Archivist vs processing archivist demographics

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

	Archivist	Processing Archivist
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 43.1% Female, 56.9%	Male, 46.8% Female, 53.2%
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, 4.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 5.2% Asian, 3.5% White, 81.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	13%	13%

Differences between archivist and processing 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.

Processing archivist example responsibilities.

Compose the bulk of the finding aid for the collection, in compliance with DACS rules.
Create correspondences/completed FDA forms/maintain submission calendars/review submission documents.
Create correspondences/completed FDA forms/maintain submission calendars/review submission documents.

Archivist vs processing archivist skills

Common archivist skills

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

Common processing archivist skills

DACS, 37%
Reference Services, 31%
Marc, 15%
Cataloging, 12%
Research Value, 5%

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Archivist vs Processing Archivist

Updated January 8, 2025

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