Museum docent vs museum curator

The differences between museum docents and museum curators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a museum docent, becoming a museum curator takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a museum curator has an average salary of $44,309, which is higher than the $40,630 average annual salary of a museum docent.

The top three skills for a museum docent include natural history, museum gift shop and museum exhibits. The most important skills for a museum curator are collections management, art collections, and museum exhibits.

Museum docent vs museum curator overview

	Museum Docent	Museum Curator
Yearly salary	$40,630	$44,309
Hourly rate	$19.53	$21.30
Growth rate	12%	12%
Number of jobs	77	413
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 81%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	6

Museum docent vs museum curator salary

Museum docents and museum curators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Museum Docent	Museum Curator
Average salary	$40,630	$44,309
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $67,000	Between $25,000 And $77,000
Highest paying City	-	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	-	Alaska
Best paying company	-	Smithsonian Institution
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between museum docent and museum curator education

There are a few differences between a museum docent and a museum curator in terms of educational background:

	Museum Docent	Museum Curator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 81%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common major	History	History
Most common college	Harvard University	Harvard University

Museum docent vs museum curator demographics

Here are the differences between museum docents' and museum curators' demographics:

	Museum Docent	Museum Curator
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 37.1% Female, 62.9%	Male, 39.9% Female, 60.1%
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, 5.2% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 7.2% Asian, 5.0% White, 76.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4%
LGBT Percentage	13%	13%

Differences between museum docent and museum curator 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.

Museum curator example responsibilities.

Review and edit listing photography and source photographers in various markets to capture unique accommodations and cover special assignments worldwide.
Fashion and coordinate historical costumes for first person interpretation

Museum docent vs museum curator 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 museum curator skills

Collections Management, 29%
Art Collections, 14%
Museum Exhibits, 12%
Fine Arts, 11%
Educational Programs, 9%
Cataloging, 6%

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Museum Docent vs Museum Curator

Updated January 8, 2025

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