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Curatorial assistant vs assistant curator

The differences between curatorial assistants and assistant curators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a curatorial assistant, becoming an assistant curator takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a curatorial assistant has an average salary of $48,577, which is higher than the $47,498 average annual salary of an assistant curator.

The top three skills for a curatorial assistant include collection database, art history and photography. The most important skills for an assistant curator are art history, museum exhibits, and collections management.

Curatorial assistant vs assistant curator overview

Curatorial AssistantAssistant Curator
Yearly salary$48,577$47,498
Hourly rate$23.35$22.84
Growth rate-8%12%
Number of jobs27,352312
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 78%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age5044
Years of experience26

Curatorial assistant vs assistant curator salary

Curatorial assistants and assistant curators have different pay scales, as shown below.

Curatorial AssistantAssistant Curator
Average salary$48,577$47,498
Salary rangeBetween $38,000 And $62,000Between $26,000 And $86,000
Highest paying CityBridgewater, MANew Haven, CT
Highest paying stateColoradoAlaska
Best paying companyBridgewater State UniversityThe Art Institute of Chicago
Best paying industryEducation-

Differences between curatorial assistant and assistant curator education

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

Curatorial AssistantAssistant Curator
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 78%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common majorFine ArtsFine Arts
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityHarvard University

Curatorial assistant vs assistant curator demographics

Here are the differences between curatorial assistants' and assistant curators' demographics:

Curatorial AssistantAssistant Curator
Average age5044
Gender ratioMale, 27.5% Female, 72.5%Male, 40.1% Female, 59.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%Black or African American, 5.3% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.3% Asian, 5.1% White, 76.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage6%13%

Differences between curatorial assistant and assistant curator duties and responsibilities

Curatorial assistant example responsibilities.

  • Manage Linux staging and testing environments.
  • Participate in and demonstrate leadership skills to the youth in the weekly huddles.
  • Schedule, organize, and supervise photography sessions.
  • Disseminate news alerts and other pertinent information throughout organizational leadership and congregation.
  • Perform inventory, descriptive cataloging, and photography of archaeological and ethnographic object collections and preparation for display in digital environment.
  • Provide cloud base customer relationship management with Salesforce for optimization in coordination of the workforce development program and other community orient events
  • Show more

Assistant curator example responsibilities.

  • Review and edit listing photography and source photographers in various markets to capture unique accommodations and cover special assignments worldwide.
  • Fashion and coordinate historical costumes for first person interpretation

Curatorial assistant vs assistant curator skills

Common curatorial assistant skills
  • Collection Database, 19%
  • Art History, 12%
  • Photography, 9%
  • Collections Management, 9%
  • Press Releases, 5%
  • Museum Collection, 5%
Common assistant curator skills
  • Art History, 13%
  • Museum Exhibits, 13%
  • Collections Management, 11%
  • Educational Programs, 11%
  • Photography, 8%
  • Curate, 5%

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