Careers / Museum Technicians and Conservators
Museum Technicians and Conservators — Career Decision Dashboard
United States
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Report generated from official BLS OEWS and O*NET data — United States.
Median annual wage
$51,440
United States, 2025
Employment
12,310
United States, 2025
Typical education
Not recorded
Job Zone 5
Skills identified
35
10 related careers
Career overview
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.
- O*NET code
- 25-4013.00
- Job zone
- 5
- Experience required
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years
Typical tasks
- Prepare artifacts for storage and shipping.
- Determine whether objects need repair and choose the safest and most effective method of repair.
- Specialize in particular materials or types of object, such as documents and books, paintings, decorative arts, textiles, metals, or architectural materials.
- Recommend preservation procedures, such as control of temperature and humidity, to curatorial and building staff.
- 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.
- Study object documentation or conduct standard chemical and physical tests to ascertain the object's age, composition, original appearance, need for treatment or restoration, and appropriate preservation method.
- Clean objects, such as paper, textiles, wood, metal, glass, rock, pottery, and furniture, using cleansers, solvents, soap solutions, and polishes.
- Repair, restore, and reassemble artifacts, designing and fabricating missing or broken parts, to restore them to their original appearance and prevent deterioration.
Choose a location
Salary analysis — United States
10th percentile
$33,780
25th percentile
$41,050
75th percentile
$67,640
90th percentile
$87,530
Most important skills
- Reading Comprehension4.0
- Active Listening3.9
- Speaking3.6
- Monitoring3.4
- Writing3.4
- Critical Thinking3.4
- Judgment and Decision Making3.3
- Complex Problem Solving3.3
- Active Learning3.1
- Social Perceptiveness3.0
- Coordination3.0
- Instructing3.0
What skills do you need?
Select the skills you already have
Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.
Skill coverage
0%
0 of 12 identified skills
Matched
0
Missing
12
Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.
Skills to develop
| Skill | Importance | Required level | Your level | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | 4.0 | 4.1 | Not selected | 4.1 |
| Active Listening | 3.9 | 3.9 | Not selected | 3.9 |
| Speaking | 3.6 | 3.9 | Not selected | 3.9 |
| Writing | 3.4 | 3.9 | Not selected | 3.9 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.4 | 3.6 | Not selected | 3.6 |
| Monitoring | 3.4 | 3.5 | Not selected | 3.5 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.3 | 3.3 | Not selected | 3.3 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.3 | 3.3 | Not selected | 3.3 |
| Coordination | 3.0 | 3.3 | Not selected | 3.3 |
| Active Learning | 3.1 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.0 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Instructing | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.
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Compare with Museum Technicians and ConservatorsHow salary varies by location
| Location | Median | Employment | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington, DC | $79,230 | 970 | 2025 |
| New York, NY | $77,030 | 820 | 2025 |
| MD | $76,900 | 450 | 2025 |
| DC | $76,110 | 520 | 2025 |
| Santa Cruz, CA | $75,100 | 30 | 2025 |
| San Francisco, CA | $75,020 | 420 | 2025 |
| NY | $74,550 | 1,050 | 2025 |
| Des Moines, IA | $68,960 | 30 | 2025 |
| Albany, NY | $66,620 | 70 | 2025 |
| Kiryas Joel, NY | $65,310 | 40 | 2025 |
| San Jose, CA | $62,290 | 40 | 2025 |
| CT | $62,030 | 280 | 2025 |
| CA | $61,550 | 1,610 | 2025 |
| Seattle, WA | $61,370 | 180 | 2025 |
| Riverside, CA | $61,040 | 80 | 2025 |
| AK | $60,840 | 60 | 2025 |
| Sacramento, CA | $60,540 | 60 | 2025 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $60,510 | — | 2025 |
| Denver, CO | $60,110 | 180 | 2025 |
| Minneapolis, MN | $59,820 | 100 | 2025 |
Career transition paths
Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Museum Technicians and Conservators to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.
Build a transition comparisonCareer and skills data: O*NET 31.0.
Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).
Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.