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Exhibit preparator vs museum technician

The differences between exhibit preparators and museum technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an exhibit preparator and a museum technician. Additionally, an exhibit preparator has an average salary of $59,236, which is higher than the $40,953 average annual salary of a museum technician.

The top three skills for an exhibit preparator include museum exhibits, exhibition design and art objects. The most important skills for a museum technician are collections database, museum collection, and artifact.

Exhibit preparator vs museum technician overview

Exhibit PreparatorMuseum Technician
Yearly salary$59,236$40,953
Hourly rate$28.48$19.69
Growth rate12%12%
Number of jobs785,697
Job satisfaction-3
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 78%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age4444
Years of experience44

Exhibit preparator vs museum technician salary

Exhibit preparators and museum technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Exhibit PreparatorMuseum Technician
Average salary$59,236$40,953
Salary rangeBetween $26,000 And $132,000Between $24,000 And $67,000
Highest paying City-Washington, DC
Highest paying state-Delaware
Best paying company-Smithsonian Institution
Best paying industry--

Differences between exhibit preparator and museum technician education

There are a few differences between an exhibit preparator and a museum technician in terms of educational background:

Exhibit PreparatorMuseum Technician
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 78%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common majorFine ArtsHistory
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityHarvard University

Exhibit preparator vs museum technician demographics

Here are the differences between exhibit preparators' and museum technicians' demographics:

Exhibit PreparatorMuseum Technician
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 52.4% Female, 47.6%Male, 39.0% Female, 61.0%
Race ratioBlack 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%Black or African American, 5.3% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.4% Asian, 5.2% White, 76.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage13%13%

Differences between exhibit preparator and museum technician duties and responsibilities

Exhibit preparator example responsibilities.

  • Conduct tours of the anthropology and paleontology museums * Write/edit exhibit- and art show-relate materials
  • Control exhibits that require oversight in the financial department.

Museum technician example responsibilities.

  • Assist with planning, designing, and prototyping new exhibits.
  • Prepare daily animal diets and perform cleaning duties to USDA and AZA standards.
  • Perform an array of prototyping, fabrication, assembly, integration, and installation of exhibits.
  • Organize and catalog anthropology, mineral science and paleobiology collections.
  • Create and run excel macros on ceramic artifacts providing statistical analysis data.
  • Create and run excel macros on ceramic artifacts providing statistical analysis data.

Exhibit preparator vs museum technician skills

Common exhibit preparator skills
  • Museum Exhibits, 47%
  • Exhibition Design, 30%
  • Art Objects, 14%
  • Natural History, 9%
Common museum technician skills
  • Collections Database, 11%
  • Museum Collection, 11%
  • Artifact, 11%
  • NPS, 9%
  • Pest Management, 8%
  • Cataloging, 8%

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