Post job

Art preparator vs curatorial specialist

The differences between art preparators and curatorial specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an art preparator and a curatorial specialist. Additionally, an art preparator has an average salary of $59,856, which is higher than the $43,840 average annual salary of a curatorial specialist.

The top three skills for an art preparator include art exhibitions, art installation and art preparation. The most important skills for a curatorial specialist are cataloging, , and .

Art preparator vs curatorial specialist overview

Art PreparatorCuratorial Specialist
Yearly salary$59,856$43,840
Hourly rate$28.78$21.08
Growth rate12%12%
Number of jobs2,76923,992
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Average age4444
Years of experience44

Art preparator vs curatorial specialist salary

Art preparators and curatorial specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Art PreparatorCuratorial Specialist
Average salary$59,856$43,840
Salary rangeBetween $29,000 And $120,000Between $28,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between art preparator and curatorial specialist education

There are a few differences between an art preparator and a curatorial specialist in terms of educational background:

Art PreparatorCuratorial Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Most common majorFine ArtsAnthropology
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityUniversity of Maryland - College Park

Art preparator vs curatorial specialist demographics

Here are the differences between art preparators' and curatorial specialists' demographics:

Art PreparatorCuratorial Specialist
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 78.3% Female, 21.7%Male, 30.0% Female, 70.0%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 5.4% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 7.5% Asian, 3.5% White, 77.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4%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 Percentage13%13%

Differences between art preparator and curatorial specialist duties and responsibilities

Art preparator example responsibilities.

  • Manage graphic arts department and camera and typesetting departments.
  • Work on set design and advance photo editing including color swapping and color correcting for commercial photography studio.
  • Generate quotes for custom screen print and embroidery projects that require art time and or outside service bureau charges.

Curatorial specialist example responsibilities.

  • Manage user securities, roles, database backups, restore, fail-over management for SQL cluster.
  • Assist in cataloging incoming items for the collection.
  • Supervise student employees responsible for processing and cataloging collections.
  • Conduct research using online federal regulations, review Medicare and Medicaid policy and guidelines to complete an accurate and well-support decision.
  • Facilitate multi-year project digitizing and cataloguing decoration in manuscripts (approx.

Art preparator vs curatorial specialist skills

Common art preparator skills
  • Art Exhibitions, 34%
  • Art Installation, 21%
  • Art Preparation, 21%
  • Museum Standards, 15%
  • Condition Reports, 9%
Common curatorial specialist skills
  • Cataloging, 100%

Browse education, training, and library jobs