Museum docent vs exhibit technician

The differences between museum docents and exhibit technicians 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 docent and an exhibit technician. Additionally, a museum docent has an average salary of $40,630, which is higher than the $34,387 average annual salary of an exhibit technician.

The top three skills for a museum docent include natural history, museum gift shop and museum exhibits. The most important skills for an exhibit technician are exhibit design, prototyping, and exhibit maintenance.

Museum docent vs exhibit technician overview

	Museum Docent	Exhibit Technician
Yearly salary	$40,630	$34,387
Hourly rate	$19.53	$16.53
Growth rate	12%	12%
Number of jobs	77	5,760
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 81%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

Museum docent vs exhibit technician salary

Museum docents and exhibit technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Museum Docent	Exhibit Technician
Average salary	$40,630	$34,387
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $67,000	Between $18,000 And $63,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between museum docent and exhibit technician education

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

	Museum Docent	Exhibit Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 81%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	History	Fine Arts
Most common college	Harvard University	Harvard University

Museum docent vs exhibit technician demographics

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

	Museum Docent	Exhibit Technician
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 37.1% Female, 62.9%	Male, 80.1% Female, 19.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.1% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.1% Asian, 4.9% White, 77.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%	Black or African American, 5.1% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.1% Asian, 4.9% White, 77.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	13%	13%

Differences between museum docent and exhibit technician duties and responsibilities

Museum docent example responsibilities.

Conduct tours of the anthropology and paleontology museums * Write/edit exhibit- and art show-relate materials
Create and present educational PowerPoint oral presentations.

Exhibit technician example responsibilities.

Manage paperwork associate with HVAC procedures.
Diagnose, troubleshoot and repair systemic problems, commission new turbines, evaluate readiness for operations.
Perform archeological field excavations and laboratory analysis.

Museum docent vs exhibit technician skills

Common museum docent skills

Natural History, 39%
Museum Gift Shop, 9%
Museum Exhibits, 8%
Front Desk, 7%
Public Speaking, 7%
Educational Programs, 6%

Common exhibit technician skills

Exhibit Design, 21%
Prototyping, 17%
Exhibit Maintenance, 13%
Interactive Exhibits, 13%
Exhibit Components, 10%
Museum Exhibits, 9%

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Museum Docent vs Exhibit Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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