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Museum technician vs art conservator

The differences between museum technicians 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 technician and an art conservator. Additionally, an art conservator has an average salary of $60,547, which is higher than the $40,953 average annual salary of a museum technician.

The top three skills for a museum technician include collections database, museum collection and artifact. The most important skills for an art conservator are conservation practices, , and .

Museum technician vs art conservator overview

Museum TechnicianArt Conservator
Yearly salary$40,953$60,547
Hourly rate$19.69$29.11
Growth rate12%12%
Number of jobs5,6972,737
Job satisfaction3-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 85%
Average age4444
Years of experience44

Museum technician vs art conservator salary

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

Museum TechnicianArt Conservator
Average salary$40,953$60,547
Salary rangeBetween $24,000 And $67,000Between $29,000 And $125,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DC-
Highest paying stateDelaware-
Best paying companySmithsonian Institution-
Best paying industry--

Differences between museum technician and art conservator education

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

Museum TechnicianArt Conservator
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 85%
Most common majorHistoryFine Arts
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityUniversity of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Museum technician vs art conservator demographics

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

Museum TechnicianArt Conservator
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 39.0% Female, 61.0%Male, 57.1% Female, 42.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 5.3% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.4% Asian, 5.2% 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 technician and art conservator duties and responsibilities

Museum technician example responsibilities.

  • Assist with planning, designing, and prototyping new exhibits.
  • Prepare daily animal diets and perform cleaning duties to USDA and AZA standards.
  • Perform an array of prototyping, fabrication, assembly, integration, and installation of exhibits.
  • Organize and catalog anthropology, mineral science and paleobiology collections.
  • Create and run excel macros on ceramic artifacts providing statistical analysis data.
  • Create and run excel macros on ceramic artifacts providing statistical analysis data.

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 technician vs art conservator skills

Common museum technician skills
  • Collections Database, 11%
  • Museum Collection, 11%
  • Artifact, 11%
  • NPS, 9%
  • Pest Management, 8%
  • Cataloging, 8%
Common art conservator skills
  • Conservation Practices, 100%

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