Museum educator vs museum docent

The differences between museum educators and museum docents 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 educator and a museum docent. Additionally, a museum docent has an average salary of $40,630, which is higher than the $40,399 average annual salary of a museum educator.

The top three skills for a museum educator include educational programs, art history and K-12. The most important skills for a museum docent are natural history, museum gift shop, and museum exhibits.

Museum educator vs museum docent overview

	Museum Educator	Museum Docent
Yearly salary	$40,399	$40,630
Hourly rate	$19.42	$19.53
Growth rate	12%	12%
Number of jobs	18,481	77
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 81%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

Museum educator vs museum docent salary

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

	Museum Educator	Museum Docent
Average salary	$40,399	$40,630
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $61,000	Between $24,000 And $67,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between museum educator and museum docent education

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

	Museum Educator	Museum Docent
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 81%
Most common major	Fine Arts	History
Most common college	Harvard University	Harvard University

Museum educator vs museum docent demographics

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

	Museum Educator	Museum Docent
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 30.6% Female, 69.4%	Male, 37.1% Female, 62.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.3% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 76.6% 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, 77.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	13%	13%

Differences between museum educator and museum docent duties and responsibilities

Museum educator example responsibilities.

Manage revolving caseload of students with IEP team including initials, transfer placements, manifestation determinations.
Train and supervise employees and volunteers in collections protocols, cataloging, preparation, housekeeping, lab and field work.
Analyze prehistoric and historic cultural artifacts, including data entry for cataloging.
Develop digital materials, documents, PowerPoint presentations, lectures, and laboratory activities daily.
Design PowerPoint presentations enhancing educational environment.
Design PowerPoint presentations enhancing educational environment.

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 educator vs museum docent skills

Common museum educator skills

Educational Programs, 15%
Art History, 11%
K-12, 9%
Public Programs, 8%
Outreach Program, 6%
Public Speaking, 6%

Common museum docent skills

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

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Museum Educator
Museum Educator vs Museum Docent

Updated January 8, 2025

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