Art museum docent vs tour guide

The differences between art museum docents and tour guides can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an art museum docent and a tour guide. Additionally, an art museum docent has an average salary of $46,696, which is higher than the $32,323 average annual salary of a tour guide.

The top three skills for an art museum docent include art museum, and . The most important skills for a tour guide are local history, customer service, and safety practices.

Art museum docent vs tour guide overview

	Art Museum Docent	Tour Guide
Yearly salary	$46,696	$32,323
Hourly rate	$22.45	$15.54
Growth rate	12%	-
Number of jobs	2,803	1,043
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age	34	34
Years of experience	2	2

Art museum docent vs tour guide salary

Art museum docents and tour guides have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Art Museum Docent	Tour Guide
Average salary	$46,696	$32,323
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $90,000	Between $18,000 And $55,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	Alaska
Best paying company	-	Harley-Davidson
Best paying industry	-	Education

Differences between art museum docent and tour guide education

There are a few differences between an art museum docent and a tour guide in terms of educational background:

	Art Museum Docent	Tour Guide
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common major	Fine Arts	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Stanford University

Art museum docent vs tour guide demographics

Here are the differences between art museum docents' and tour guides' demographics:

	Art Museum Docent	Tour Guide
Average age	34	34
Gender ratio	Male, 21.4% Female, 78.6%	Male, 46.8% Female, 53.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 9.7% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 6.6% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 9.9% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between art museum docent and tour guide duties and responsibilities

Art museum docent example responsibilities.

Manage the sculpture and ceramic studios, keeping the areas clean, safe, and organize.
Work on set design and advance photo editing including color swapping and color correcting for commercial photography studio.
Monitor checkout stations to ensure that they have adequate cash available and that they are staffed appropriately.

Tour guide example responsibilities.

Manage the canoe landing including guests, workers, and canoe traffic in a way that all run smoothly and safely.
Aid clients with matters regarding passports and visas.
Receive multiple positive reviews on the company Facebook page.
Complete extensive training as well as first aid, CPR and a certification.
Maintain alertness for any problem solve calls via radio and communication with management.
Spearhead all creative activity for online marketing (Facebook), and other social media sites5.

Art museum docent vs tour guide skills

Common art museum docent skills

Art Museum, 100%

Common tour guide skills

Local History, 22%
Customer Service, 19%
Safety Practices, 16%
Public Speaking, 8%
Front Desk, 4%
Facebook, 3%