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Museum assistant vs archivist

The differences between museum assistants and archivists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a museum assistant and an archivist. Additionally, an archivist has an average salary of $47,145, which is higher than the $40,072 average annual salary of a museum assistant.

The top three skills for a museum assistant include museum exhibits, front desk and museum visitors. The most important skills for an archivist are archival collections, online database, and archival materials.

Museum assistant vs archivist overview

Museum AssistantArchivist
Yearly salary$40,072$47,145
Hourly rate$19.27$22.67
Growth rate12%12%
Number of jobs522449
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 77%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age4444
Years of experience44

Museum assistant vs archivist salary

Museum assistants and archivists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Museum AssistantArchivist
Average salary$40,072$47,145
Salary rangeBetween $23,000 And $67,000Between $23,000 And $94,000
Highest paying City-Washington, DC
Highest paying state-Alaska
Best paying company-Apple
Best paying industry--

Differences between museum assistant and archivist education

There are a few differences between a museum assistant and an archivist in terms of educational background:

Museum AssistantArchivist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 77%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common majorFine ArtsHistory
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityHarvard University

Museum assistant vs archivist demographics

Here are the differences between museum assistants' and archivists' demographics:

Museum AssistantArchivist
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 34.5% Female, 65.5%Male, 43.1% Female, 56.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 5.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 7.4% Asian, 5.1% White, 76.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%Black or African American, 5.3% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.3% Asian, 5.1% White, 76.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage13%13%

Differences between museum assistant and archivist duties and responsibilities

Museum assistant example responsibilities.

  • Aid development and implementation of NPS cataloging standards.
  • Participate in re-cataloging projects involving artifact research, condition assessment, and storage planning.
  • Assist in training fellow employees in NPS museum cataloging methodology.
  • Conduct back-room tours in the department of anthropology for invite visitors.
  • Maintain archival museum and fossil preparation records and treatment folders, transferring information to NPS archives catalog system.
  • Research and document descriptions about each artifact.
  • Show more

Archivist example responsibilities.

  • Create EAD and DACS compliant finding aids for new and existing collections.
  • Update online database with metadata on newly accession materials and implement new physical arrangement system for archival collections.
  • Develop a custom RDF metadata model for archiving and cataloging multimedia digital artworks in the library's digital asset management system.
  • Enter website content, adding basic HTML coding.
  • Use EAD for collection processing and organization of metadata.
  • Encode multiple finding aids in EAD including faculty biographical files.
  • Show more

Museum assistant vs archivist skills

Common museum assistant skills
  • Museum Exhibits, 17%
  • Front Desk, 8%
  • Museum Visitors, 8%
  • Museum Events, 6%
  • Educational Programs, 6%
  • Press Releases, 4%
Common archivist skills
  • Archival Collections, 15%
  • Online Database, 11%
  • Archival Materials, 8%
  • Reference Services, 8%
  • Archival Research, 4%
  • Manuscript Collections, 4%

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