Museum registrar vs art conservator

The differences between museum registrars and art conservators 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 registrar and an art conservator. Additionally, an art conservator has an average salary of $60,547, which is higher than the $43,424 average annual salary of a museum registrar.

The top three skills for a museum registrar include condition reports, fine arts and computer database. The most important skills for an art conservator are conservation practices, , and .

Museum registrar vs art conservator overview

	Museum Registrar	Art Conservator
Yearly salary	$43,424	$60,547
Hourly rate	$20.88	$29.11
Growth rate	12%	12%
Number of jobs	2,842	2,737
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 85%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

Museum registrar vs art conservator salary

Museum registrars and art conservators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Museum Registrar	Art Conservator
Average salary	$43,424	$60,547
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $80,000	Between $29,000 And $125,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between museum registrar and art conservator education

There are a few differences between a museum registrar and an art conservator in terms of educational background:

	Museum Registrar	Art Conservator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 85%
Most common major	Fine Arts	Fine Arts
Most common college	Harvard University	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Museum registrar vs art conservator demographics

Here are the differences between museum registrars' and art conservators' demographics:

	Museum Registrar	Art Conservator
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 32.1% Female, 67.9%	Male, 57.1% Female, 42.9%
Race ratio	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%	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 Percentage	13%	13%

Differences between museum registrar and art conservator duties and responsibilities

Museum registrar example responsibilities.

Manage FoxPro database of historical and archaeological collections locate at state parks throughout Florida.
Train, mentor and supervise museum volunteers and interns, providing example-base leadership to facilitate knowledgeable and customer-service orient staff.
Create and present educational PowerPoint oral presentations.

Art conservator example responsibilities.

Manage graphic arts department and camera and typesetting departments.
Work on set design and advance photo editing including color swapping and color correcting for commercial photography studio.
Generate quotes for custom screen print and embroidery projects that require art time and or outside service bureau charges.

Museum registrar vs art conservator skills

Common museum registrar skills

Condition Reports, 28%
Fine Arts, 25%
Computer Database, 20%
Cataloging, 14%
Permanent Collection, 12%

Common art conservator skills

Conservation Practices, 100%

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Museum Registrar
Museum Registrar vs Art Conservator

Updated January 8, 2025

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