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Museum assistant vs curatorial specialist

The differences between museum assistants and curatorial specialists 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 a curatorial specialist. Additionally, a curatorial specialist has an average salary of $43,840, 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 a curatorial specialist are cataloging, , and .

Museum assistant vs curatorial specialist overview

Museum AssistantCuratorial Specialist
Yearly salary$40,072$43,840
Hourly rate$19.27$21.08
Growth rate12%12%
Number of jobs52223,992
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 77%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Average age4444
Years of experience44

Museum assistant vs curatorial specialist salary

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

Museum AssistantCuratorial Specialist
Average salary$40,072$43,840
Salary rangeBetween $23,000 And $67,000Between $28,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between museum assistant and curatorial specialist education

There are a few differences between a museum assistant and a curatorial specialist in terms of educational background:

Museum AssistantCuratorial Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 77%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Most common majorFine ArtsAnthropology
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityUniversity of Maryland - College Park

Museum assistant vs curatorial specialist demographics

Here are the differences between museum assistants' and curatorial specialists' demographics:

Museum AssistantCuratorial Specialist
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 34.5% Female, 65.5%Male, 30.0% Female, 70.0%
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, 4.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 5.2% Asian, 3.5% White, 81.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage13%13%

Differences between museum assistant and curatorial specialist 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

Curatorial specialist example responsibilities.

  • Manage user securities, roles, database backups, restore, fail-over management for SQL cluster.
  • Assist in cataloging incoming items for the collection.
  • Supervise student employees responsible for processing and cataloging collections.
  • Conduct research using online federal regulations, review Medicare and Medicaid policy and guidelines to complete an accurate and well-support decision.
  • Facilitate multi-year project digitizing and cataloguing decoration in manuscripts (approx.

Museum assistant vs curatorial specialist skills

Common museum assistant skills
  • Museum Exhibits, 17%
  • Front Desk, 8%
  • Museum Visitors, 8%
  • Museum Events, 6%
  • Educational Programs, 6%
  • Press Releases, 4%
Common curatorial specialist skills
  • Cataloging, 100%

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