Curator vs museum director

The differences between curators and museum directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a curator and a museum director. Additionally, a museum director has an average salary of $73,554, which is higher than the $47,923 average annual salary of a curator.

The top three skills for a curator include facebook, historical research and exhibit design. The most important skills for a museum director are museum operations, museum exhibits, and community outreach.

Curator vs museum director overview

	Curator	Museum Director
Yearly salary	$47,923	$73,554
Hourly rate	$23.04	$35.36
Growth rate	12%	12%
Number of jobs	432	7,882
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	6	6

Curator vs museum director salary

Curators and museum directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Curator	Museum Director
Average salary	$47,923	$73,554
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $85,000	Between $40,000 And $134,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Jose, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	California
Best paying company	Apple	University of Southern California
Best paying industry	-	Education

Differences between curator and museum director education

There are a few differences between a curator and a museum director in terms of educational background:

	Curator	Museum Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common major	Fine Arts	History
Most common college	Harvard University	Harvard University

Curator vs museum director demographics

Here are the differences between curators' and museum directors' demographics:

	Curator	Museum Director
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 40.4% Female, 59.6%	Male, 40.8% Female, 59.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.3% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.3% Asian, 5.1% White, 77.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%	Black or African American, 5.3% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.4% Asian, 5.0% White, 77.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	13%	13%

Differences between curator and museum director duties and responsibilities

Curator example responsibilities.

Manage visual resource center, including acquisition, cataloging, budget management and other relevant issues.
Aid instructors in sorting through student works to curate gallery.
Produce written materials including wall labels and artists' biographies.
Participate in SEO research and compile a summary for the rest of the team.
Create and upload content daily, using a web-base administration tool, and HTML.
Assist with inquiries regarding scanning Photoshop, PowerPoint and other vr-relate software and equipment.

Museum director example responsibilities.

Manage FoxPro database of historical and archaeological collections locate at state parks throughout Florida.
Lead the facility in implementing person-centered care/hospitality philosophy, electronic medical records, maximization of Medicare reimbursement, and alternative therapies.
Lead the facility in implementing person-centered care/hospitality philosophy, electronic medical records, maximization of Medicare reimbursement, and alternative therapies.
Assist in launching an initiative to lobby the Kansas legislators and other elect officials to increase Medicaid reimbursement for assist living.

Curator vs museum director skills

Common curator skills

Facebook, 10%
Historical Research, 8%
Exhibit Design, 8%
Photography, 7%
Collections Management, 5%
Art History, 5%

Common museum director skills

Museum Operations, 22%
Museum Exhibits, 18%
Community Outreach, 11%
Local Community, 11%
Collections Management, 10%
Museum Store, 8%

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Curator vs Museum Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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