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Curators

Administer collections, such as artwork, collectibles, historic items, or scientific specimens of museums or other institutions. May conduct instructional, research, or public service activities of institution.
  • Summary

  • Details

  • Work Activities

    • Plan and organize the acquisition, storage, and exhibition of collections and related materials, including the selection of exhibition themes and designs, and develop or install exhibit materials.
    • Write and review grant proposals, journal articles, institutional reports, and publicity materials.
    • Schedule events and organize details, including refreshment, entertainment, decorations, and the collection of any fees.
    • Confer with the board of directors to formulate and interpret policies, to determine budget requirements, and to plan overall operations.
    • Establish specifications for reproductions and oversee their manufacture or select items from commercially available replica sources.
    • Negotiate and authorize purchase, sale, exchange, or loan of collections.
    • Study, examine, and test acquisitions to authenticate their origin, composition, history, and to assess their current value.
    • Write and review grant proposals, journal articles, institutional reports, and publicity materials.
    • Plan and organize the acquisition, storage, and exhibition of collections and related materials, including the selection of exhibition themes and designs, and develop or install exhibit materials.
    • Plan and conduct special research projects in area of interest or expertise.
    • Inspect premises to assess the need for repairs and to ensure that climate and pest control issues are addressed.
    • Design, organize, or conduct tours, workshops, and instructional or educational sessions to acquaint individuals with an institution's facilities and materials.
    • Arrange insurance coverage for objects on loan or for special exhibits and recommend changes in coverage for the entire collection.
    • Attend meetings, conventions, and civic events to promote use of institution's services, to seek financing, and to maintain community alliances.
    • Negotiate and authorize purchase, sale, exchange, or loan of collections.
    • Provide information from the institution's holdings to other curators and to the public.
    • Inspect premises to assess the need for repairs and to ensure that climate and pest control issues are addressed.
    • Inspect premises to assess the need for repairs and to ensure that climate and pest control issues are addressed.
    • Train and supervise curatorial, fiscal, technical, research, and clerical staff, as well as volunteers or interns.
    • Train and supervise curatorial, fiscal, technical, research, and clerical staff, as well as volunteers or interns.
    • Write and review grant proposals, journal articles, institutional reports, and publicity materials.
    • Develop and maintain an institution's registration, cataloging, and basic record-keeping systems, using computer databases.

    Skills

    • Active Listening
      • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
    • Mathematics
      • Using math to solve problems.
    • Service Orientation
      • Looking for ways to help people.
    • Instructing
      • Teaching people how to do something.
    • Management of Financial Resources
      • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
    • Installation
      • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
    • Judgment and Decision Making
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
    • Complex Problem Solving
      • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
    • Coordination
      • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
    • Repairing
      • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
    • Systems Evaluation
      • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
    • Reading Comprehension
      • Reading work-related information.
    • Writing
      • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
    • Speaking
      • Talking to others.
    • Critical Thinking
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
    • Active Learning
      • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
    • Learning Strategies
      • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
    • Persuasion
      • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
    • Monitoring
      • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
    • Equipment Selection
      • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
    • Social Perceptiveness
      • Understanding people's reactions.
    • Operations Analysis
      • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
    • Management of Personnel Resources
      • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
    • Programming
      • Writing computer programs.
    • Systems Analysis
      • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
    • Time Management
      • Managing your time and the time of other people.
    • Science
      • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
    • Negotiation
      • Bringing people together to solve differences.
    • Equipment Maintenance
      • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
    • Technology Design
      • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
    • Troubleshooting
      • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
    • Management of Material Resources
      • Managing equipment and materials.
    • Quality Control Analysis
      • Testing how well a product or service works.
    • Operation and Control
      • Using equipment or systems.
    • Operations Monitoring
      • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    Abilities

    • Written Expression
      • Communicating by writing.
    • Problem Sensitivity
      • Noticing when problems happen.
    • Speed of Closure
      • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
    • Flexibility of Closure
      • Seeing hidden patterns.
    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
      • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
    • Sound Localization
      • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
    • Depth Perception
      • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
    • Peripheral Vision
      • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
    • Oral Comprehension
      • Listening and understanding what people say.
    • Wrist-Finger Speed
      • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
    • Speed of Limb Movement
      • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
    • Mathematical Reasoning
      • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
    • Rate Control
      • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
    • Perceptual Speed
      • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
    • Visual Color Discrimination
      • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
    • Originality
      • Creating new and original ideas.
    • Deductive Reasoning
      • Using rules to solve problems.
    • Information Ordering
      • Ordering or arranging things.
    • Selective Attention
      • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
    • Speech Recognition
      • Recognizing spoken words.
    • Auditory Attention
      • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
    • Night Vision
      • Seeing at night or under low light.
    • Glare Sensitivity
      • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
    • Time Sharing
      • Doing two or more things at the same time.
    • Spatial Orientation
      • Knowing where things are around you.
    • Control Precision
      • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
    • Static Strength
      • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
    • Stamina
      • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
    • Extent Flexibility
      • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Dynamic Flexibility
      • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Near Vision
      • Seeing details up close.
    • Trunk Strength
      • Using your lower back and stomach.
    • Oral Expression
      • Communicating by speaking.
    • Written Comprehension
      • Reading and understanding what is written.
    • Fluency of Ideas
      • Coming up with lots of ideas.
    • Inductive Reasoning
      • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
    • Number Facility
      • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
    • Memorization
      • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
    • Visualization
      • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
    • Multilimb Coordination
      • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
    • Response Orientation
      • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
    • Manual Dexterity
      • Holding or moving items with your hands.
    • Category Flexibility
      • Grouping things in different ways.
    • Speech Clarity
      • Speaking clearly.
    • Reaction Time
      • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
    • Explosive Strength
      • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
    • Dynamic Strength
      • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
    • Gross Body Coordination
      • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
    • Far Vision
      • Seeing details that are far away.
    • Gross Body Equilibrium
      • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
    • Hearing Sensitivity
      • Telling the difference between sounds.
    • Finger Dexterity
      • Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    Knowledge

    • Personnel and Human Resources
      • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
    • Administration and Management
      • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
    • Administrative
      • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
    • Philosophy and Theology
      • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
    • Law and Government
      • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
    • Telecommunications
      • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
    • Mathematics
      • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
    • Psychology
      • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
    • Mechanical
      • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
    • Fine Arts
      • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
    • Production and Processing
      • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
    • Sociology and Anthropology
      • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
    • English Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
    • History and Archeology
      • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
    • Engineering and Technology
      • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
    • Building and Construction
      • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
    • Geography
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
    • Therapy and Counseling
      • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
    • Public Safety and Security
      • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
    • Communications and Media
      • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
    • Transportation
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
    • Foreign Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
    • Physics
      • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
    • Design
      • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
    • Biology
      • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
    • Economics and Accounting
      • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
    • Sales and Marketing
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
    • Customer and Personal Service
      • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
    • Food Production
      • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
    • Computers and Electronics
      • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
    • Education and Training
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
    • Chemistry
      • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
    • Medicine and Dentistry
      • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    Education

    Education
    Master's degree
    Work Experience
    No work experience
    Training
    No on-the-job training

    Pay

    Washington Annual Salary
    66160/yr
    Washington Hourly Wage
    31.81/hr

    Washington Employment Trends

    Currently Employed
    310
    Yearly Projected Openings
    50

    Personality

    Conventional: People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines. They do well at jobs that need:
    • Innovation
    • Achievement Orientation
    • Intellectual Curiosity
    • Integrity
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability

    Tools

    • Claw hammer
    • Desktop computers
    • Digital cameras
    • Handheld thermometer
    • Levels
    • Lux or light meter
    • Mat cutter
    • Notebook computers
    • Paint brushes
    • Personal computers
    • Power drills
    • Rulers
    • Scanners
    • Screwdrivers
    • T squares
    • Two way radios
    • Utility knives

    Technology

    • Analytical or scientific software
    • Calendar and scheduling software
    • Computer aided design CAD software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Desktop publishing software
    • Development environment software
    • Document management software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Enterprise application integration software
    • Graphics or photo imaging software
    • Internet browser software
    • Object or component oriented development software
    • Office suite software
    • Operating system software
    • Presentation software
    • Project management software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Web page creation and editing software
    • Word processing software