Museum Technicians and Conservators
Restore, maintain, or prepare objects in museum collections for storage, research, or exhibit. May work with specimens such as fossils, skeletal parts, or botanicals; or artifacts, textiles, or art. May identify and record objects or install and arrange them in exhibits. Includes book or document conservators.
This is a specialization of
Librarians & Educational SpecialistsCareer Overview Video
AI Impact Assessment
AI Resilience Score
Score 5/6: low AI task exposure, strong human advantage provides strong protection from AI displacement
How we calculated this:
24% of tasks can be accelerated by AI
+5% projected (2024-2034)
EPOCH score: 23/25
Key Responsibilities
- Install, arrange, assemble, and prepare artifacts for exhibition, ensuring the artifacts' safety, reporting their status and condition, and identifying and correcting any problems with the set up.
- Repair, restore, and reassemble artifacts, designing and fabricating missing or broken parts, to restore them to their original appearance and prevent deterioration.
- Clean objects, such as paper, textiles, wood, metal, glass, rock, pottery, and furniture, using cleansers, solvents, soap solutions, and polishes.
- Photograph objects for documentation.
- Determine whether objects need repair and choose the safest and most effective method of repair.
- Prepare artifacts for storage and shipping.
- Enter information about museum collections into computer databases.
- Recommend preservation procedures, such as control of temperature and humidity, to curatorial and building staff.
- Notify superior when restoration of artifacts requires outside experts.
- Supervise and work with volunteers.
Education & Training
Typical Entry Education
Master's degree
Time to Job Ready
4-6 years
Based on Job Zone 4. For formal education duration only, see education_duration.
Technology Skills
Key Abilities
Ready to Start Your Career?
Find jobs and training programs for museum technicians and conservators- Median salary: $49K/year
Find Jobs
Search positions from LinkedIn, Indeed, Glassdoor, and more. Get up to 50 relevant job listings with salary info.
- Real-time results
- Export to Excel
Find Training
Discover training programs, certifications, and educational resources to help you get started or advance your career.
- Local programs
- DOL verified
Compensation Details
Based on 12,670 employed workers
Also Known As
Data from O*NET 30.1 and BLS Occupational Employment Statistics
O*NET Code: 25-4013.00