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Museum technician vs exhibit technician

The differences between museum technicians and exhibit technicians 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 exhibit technician. Additionally, a museum technician has an average salary of $40,953, which is higher than the $34,387 average annual salary of an exhibit technician.

The top three skills for a museum technician include collections database, museum collection and artifact. The most important skills for an exhibit technician are exhibit design, prototyping, and exhibit maintenance.

Museum technician vs exhibit technician overview

Museum TechnicianExhibit Technician
Yearly salary$40,953$34,387
Hourly rate$19.69$16.53
Growth rate12%12%
Number of jobs5,6975,760
Job satisfaction3-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age4444
Years of experience44

Museum technician vs exhibit technician salary

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

Museum TechnicianExhibit Technician
Average salary$40,953$34,387
Salary rangeBetween $24,000 And $67,000Between $18,000 And $63,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DC-
Highest paying stateDelaware-
Best paying companySmithsonian Institution-
Best paying industry--

Differences between museum technician and exhibit technician education

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

Museum TechnicianExhibit Technician
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common majorHistoryFine Arts
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityHarvard University

Museum technician vs exhibit technician demographics

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

Museum TechnicianExhibit Technician
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 39.0% Female, 61.0%Male, 80.1% Female, 19.9%
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, 5.1% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.1% Asian, 4.9% White, 77.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage13%13%

Differences between museum technician and exhibit technician 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.

Exhibit technician example responsibilities.

  • Manage paperwork associate with HVAC procedures.
  • Diagnose, troubleshoot and repair systemic problems, commission new turbines, evaluate readiness for operations.
  • Perform archeological field excavations and laboratory analysis.

Museum technician vs exhibit technician skills

Common museum technician skills
  • Collections Database, 11%
  • Museum Collection, 11%
  • Artifact, 11%
  • NPS, 9%
  • Pest Management, 8%
  • Cataloging, 8%
Common exhibit technician skills
  • Exhibit Design, 21%
  • Prototyping, 17%
  • Exhibit Maintenance, 13%
  • Interactive Exhibits, 13%
  • Exhibit Components, 10%
  • Museum Exhibits, 9%

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