1. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
In-State Tuition
$50,420
Enrollment
7,582
What is a Museum Assistant?
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a museum assistant. For example, did you know that they make an average of $19.27 an hour? That's $40,072 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 9% and produce 3,300 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Museum Assistant Do
There are certain skills that many museum assistants have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed analytical skills, computer skills and customer-service skills.
How To Become a Museum Assistant
If you're interested in becoming a museum assistant, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 76.7% of museum assistants have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 8.6% of museum assistants have master's degrees. Even though most museum assistants have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Museum Assistant Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of instructor you might progress to a role such as consultant eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title marketing program manager.
Average Salary for a Museum Assistant
Museum Assistants in America make an average salary of $40,072 per year or $19 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $67,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $23,000 per year.
Average Museum Assistant Salary
$40,072 Yearly$19.27 hourly
What Am I Worth?
Roles and Types of Museum Assistant
There are several types of museum assistant, including:
Archivist
Role:
An archivist is an employee of a public or private organization that is qualified to manage archives. As an archivist, you are responsible for the management of information intended to preserve the best and make it easier for others to access or discover it.
An archivist is responsible for providing, cataloging, and managing valuable collections of historical information like maps, parchment, videos, and other information related to a specific area of interest. You may also be in charge of organizing public events, talks, and exhibitions. Archivists may also oversee the process of acquiring new items to add to the collection or archive.
For this position, you need to have an undergraduate degree in history, law, information management, and other related fields. This should be followed by a postgraduate diploma accredited by the ARA. An interest in history and archives is a basic requirement for this role. You should also be organized and methodological, highly IT literate, and demonstrate excellent administrative skills. The average annual income for this role is $50,026
- Average Salary: $47,145
- Degree: Bachelor's Degree
Museum Educator
Role:
Museum educators develop teaching programs to help the public connect with the museum's collections. They can work with all kinds of people, from school groups to senior citizens, anyone who is interested in learning more about the museum's collection. They develop innovative programmings such as school visits and special educational tours. They organize events, interact with visitors, and handle the logistics of educational programs, such as the budget.
Museum educators need to know a lot about their museum's collections to explain objects to visitors. They also need to know a lot about educational programming for various ages and learning needs to make museum education accessible to all.
Most museum educators have a bachelor's or even a master's degree in museum studies, art, or a related field. In order to get hired, they usually need some practical experience working at a museum, for example, through an internship. Museum educators earn an average annual salary of $33,982. However, most are not in this field for the money but for the satisfaction of spending their day teaching others about wonderful art.
- Average Salary: $40,399
- Degree: Bachelor's Degree
States With The Most Museum Assistant Jobs
Number Of Museum Assistant Jobs By State
| Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York | 12 | $45,484 |
| 2 | California | 10 | $31,862 |
| 3 | Florida | 10 | $29,152 |
| 4 | Maryland | 9 | $33,663 |
| 5 | Massachusetts | 7 | $45,359 |
| 6 | Alaska | 6 | $47,815 |
| 7 | Texas | 6 | $44,948 |
| 8 | Illinois | 6 | $39,529 |
| 9 | Colorado | 6 | $32,117 |
| 10 | Virginia | 6 | $30,851 |
| 11 | North Carolina | 6 | $27,400 |
| 12 | Michigan | 5 | $35,629 |
| 13 | Washington | 5 | $25,429 |
| 14 | Tennessee | 4 | $30,254 |
| 15 | Wyoming | 4 | $25,672 |
| 16 | Alabama | 4 | $25,967 |
| 17 | Ohio | 3 | $38,916 |
| 18 | Minnesota | 3 | $30,973 |
| 19 | Connecticut | 2 | $45,484 |
| 20 | Pennsylvania | 2 | $41,628 |
| 21 | Nebraska | 2 | $34,376 |
| 22 | Kansas | 2 | $32,900 |
| 23 | Missouri | 2 | $33,943 |
| 24 | Oklahoma | 2 | $30,697 |
| 25 | Oregon | 2 | $30,728 |
| 26 | New Jersey | 1 | $45,364 |
| 27 | Iowa | 1 | $35,842 |
| 28 | Kentucky | 1 | $34,957 |
| 29 | Maine | 1 | $31,722 |
| 30 | South Dakota | 1 | $28,894 |
| 31 | South Carolina | 1 | $30,501 |
| 32 | Arizona | 1 | $31,428 |
| 33 | Wisconsin | 1 | $29,698 |
| 34 | Georgia | 1 | $29,653 |
| 35 | Indiana | 1 | $27,716 |
| 36 | Rhode Island | 0 | $52,039 |
| 37 | New Hampshire | 0 | $50,428 |
| 38 | Delaware | 0 | $50,529 |
| 39 | Nevada | 0 | $44,185 |
| 40 | North Dakota | 0 | $40,073 |
| 41 | Vermont | 0 | $42,520 |
| 42 | West Virginia | 0 | $38,015 |
| 43 | Mississippi | 0 | $33,211 |
| 44 | Utah | 0 | $31,924 |
| 45 | New Mexico | 0 | $31,201 |
| 46 | Arkansas | 0 | $28,522 |
| 47 | Hawaii | 0 | $29,175 |
| 48 | Louisiana | 0 | $26,920 |
| 49 | Montana | 0 | $26,748 |
| 50 | Idaho | 0 | $24,337 |
Top Colleges for Museum Assistants
2. Georgetown University
Washington, DC • Private
In-State Tuition
$54,104
Enrollment
7,089
3. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
In-State Tuition
$15,262
Enrollment
30,079
4. Brown University
Providence, RI • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,466
Enrollment
6,752
5. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
In-State Tuition
$53,740
Enrollment
5,567
6. Tufts University
Medford, MA • Private
In-State Tuition
$56,382
Enrollment
5,597
7. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$51,354
Enrollment
7,083
8. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-State Tuition
$6,381
Enrollment
34,564
9. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,695
Enrollment
6,596
10. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
Top Skills For a Museum Assistant
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 16.9% of museum assistants listed museum exhibits on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and computer skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Museum Assistant Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Museum Assistant templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Museum Assistant resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Museum Assistant diversity
Museum Assistant Gender Distribution
Female
66%
Male
35%
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among museum assistants, 65.5% of them are women, while 34.5% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among museum assistants is White, which makes up 76.7% of all museum assistants.
- The most common foreign language among museum assistants is Spanish at 35.0%.
Online Courses For Museum Assistant That You May Like
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How Do Museum Assistants Rate Their Jobs?
Top Museum Assistant Employers
Most Common Employers For Museum Assistant
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New-York Historical Society | $76,934 | $36.99 | 5 |
| 2 | Yakima Valley College | $66,510 | $31.98 | 2 |
| 3 | Yale University | $65,828 | $31.65 | 5 |
| 4 | Florida State University | $56,982 | $27.40 | 6 |
| 5 | Wells Fargo | $50,538 | $24.30 | 7 |
| 6 | Meadowbrook Insurance Agency | $40,021 | $19.24 | 3 |
| 7 | African American Museum in Philadelphia | $39,889 | $19.18 | 2 |
| 8 | Arizona State University | $37,237 | $17.90 | 2 |
| 9 | The Library Company of Philadelphia | $35,237 | $16.94 | 3 |
| 10 | University of Michigan | $35,164 | $16.91 | 6 |