Reference archivist vs museum archivist

The differences between reference archivists and museum archivists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a reference archivist and a museum archivist. Additionally, a museum archivist has an average salary of $50,396, which is higher than the $34,626 average annual salary of a reference archivist.

Reference archivist vs museum archivist overview

	Reference Archivist	Museum Archivist
Yearly salary	$34,626	$50,396
Hourly rate	$16.65	$24.23
Growth rate	12%	12%
Number of jobs	155	459
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

Reference archivist vs museum archivist salary

Reference archivists and museum archivists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Reference Archivist	Museum Archivist
Average salary	$34,626	$50,396
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $52,000	Between $24,000 And $104,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between reference archivist and museum archivist education

There are a few differences between a reference archivist and a museum archivist in terms of educational background:

	Reference Archivist	Museum Archivist
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Most common major	History	History
Most common college	New York University	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Reference archivist vs museum archivist demographics

Here are the differences between reference archivists' and museum archivists' demographics:

	Reference Archivist	Museum Archivist
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 50.0% Female, 50.0%	Male, 38.9% Female, 61.1%
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 reference archivist and museum archivist duties and responsibilities

Reference archivist example responsibilities.

Create correspondences/completed FDA forms/maintain submission calendars/review submission documents.
Maintain assign fiction and nonfiction collections.

Museum archivist example responsibilities.

Create correspondences/completed FDA forms/maintain submission calendars/review submission documents.
Accession and process collections maintaining records using PastPerfect software.

Reference archivist vs museum archivist skills

Common reference archivist skills

Reference Services, 100%

Common museum archivist skills

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Reference Archivist
Reference Archivist vs Museum Archivist

Updated January 8, 2025

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