Museum Technicians and Conservators

What Museum Technicians and Conservators Do

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.

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 2024–2034.

Related work experience

None

On-the-job training

None

Self-employed

12%

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

Key Knowledge Areas

Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.

• Fine Artsimportance 3.5/5
• English Languageimportance 3.4/5
• Public Safety and Securityimportance 3.3/5
• History and Archeologyimportance 3.2/5
• Administration and Managementimportance 3.1/5
• Chemistryimportance 3.1/5
• Administrativeimportance 2.8/5
• Mechanicalimportance 2.7/5

Work Environment

What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.

• Freedom to Make Decisions4.6/5
• Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.5/5
• Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals4.3/5
• Importance of Being Exact or Accurate4.3/5
• Indoors, Environmentally Controlled4.2/5
• E-Mail4.2/5

Related Careers

• Curators
• Set and Exhibit Designers
• Archivists
• Historians
• Craft Artists
• Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators
• Painters, Construction and Maintenance
• Forest and Conservation Technicians

Careers With Similar Skills

Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.

• Neurologists96% skill match
• Medical Dosimetrists96% skill match
• Fire Inspectors and Investigators95% skill match
• Gambling Surveillance Officers and Gambling Investigators95% skill match
• Tellers95% skill match
• Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance94% skill match
• Food Preparation Workers94% skill match
• Childcare Workers94% skill match

Transferable Skills

Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.

• Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.1/5
• Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.1/5
• Coordinationimportance 3.0/5
• Instructingimportance 3.0/5
• Social Perceptivenessimportance 2.9/5
• Service Orientationimportance 2.8/5
• Systems Analysisimportance 2.8/5
• Systems Evaluationimportance 2.8/5

Software & Technologies

Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.

Work Style

Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.

• Attention to Detail
• Cautiousness
• Dependability
• Integrity
• Intellectual Curiosity
• Cooperation
• Perseverance

Career Interests

This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.

• RealisticHigh
• ConventionalMedium
• InvestigativeMedium
• ArtisticMedium
• SocialLow
• EnterprisingLow

Where This Career Is Most Concentrated

Metro areas where museum technicians and conservators make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).

1. 1St. Louis, MO-IL7.09× national avg
2. 2Ann Arbor, MI4.43× national avg
3. 3Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV3.92× national avg
4. 4Urban Honolulu, HI3.91× national avg
5. 5New Orleans-Metairie, LA3.61× national avg

Possible Career Moves

A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.

• Cartographers and PhotogrammetristsCareer Change
• Medical DosimetristsCareer Change
• Registered NursesCareer Change
• Fire Inspectors and InvestigatorsCareer Change

See the full career path from Museum Technicians and Conservators →

Related Education Programs

Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.