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Museum technician vs curator

The differences between museum technicians and 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 technician, becoming a curator takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a curator has an average salary of $47,923, 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 a curator are facebook, historical research, and exhibit design.

Museum technician vs curator overview

Museum TechnicianCurator
Yearly salary$40,953$47,923
Hourly rate$19.69$23.04
Growth rate12%12%
Number of jobs5,697432
Job satisfaction3-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age4444
Years of experience46

Museum technician vs curator salary

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

Museum TechnicianCurator
Average salary$40,953$47,923
Salary rangeBetween $24,000 And $67,000Between $26,000 And $85,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateDelawareAlaska
Best paying companySmithsonian InstitutionApple
Best paying industry--

Differences between museum technician and curator education

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

Museum TechnicianCurator
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common majorHistoryFine Arts
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityHarvard University

Museum technician vs curator demographics

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

Museum TechnicianCurator
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 39.0% Female, 61.0%Male, 40.4% Female, 59.6%
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, 5.3% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.3% Asian, 5.1% White, 77.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage13%13%

Differences between museum technician and curator 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.

Curator example responsibilities.

  • Manage visual resource center, including acquisition, cataloging, budget management and other relevant issues.
  • Aid instructors in sorting through student works to curate gallery.
  • Produce written materials including wall labels and artists' biographies.
  • Participate in SEO research and compile a summary for the rest of the team.
  • Create and upload content daily, using a web-base administration tool, and HTML.
  • Assist with inquiries regarding scanning Photoshop, PowerPoint and other vr-relate software and equipment.
  • Show more

Museum technician vs curator skills

Common museum technician skills
  • Collections Database, 11%
  • Museum Collection, 11%
  • Artifact, 11%
  • NPS, 9%
  • Pest Management, 8%
  • Cataloging, 8%
Common curator skills
  • Facebook, 10%
  • Historical Research, 8%
  • Exhibit Design, 8%
  • Photography, 7%
  • Collections Management, 5%
  • Art History, 5%

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