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Museum Technicians and Conservators

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they 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.

Related: Archivists Curators Forest & Conservation Technicians Historians Set & Exhibit Designers

Industries: Arts & Entertainment Government Education

Summary
Details

Classify and assign registration numbers to artifacts and supervise inventory control.
Specialize in particular materials or types of object, such as documents and books, paintings, decorative arts, textiles, metals, or architectural materials.
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.
Perform tests and examinations to establish storage and conservation requirements, policies, and procedures.
Plan and conduct research to develop and improve methods of restoring and preserving specimens.
Preserve or direct preservation of objects, using plaster, resin, sealants, hardeners, and shellac.
Prepare artifacts for storage and shipping.
Supervise and work with volunteers.
Specialize in particular materials or types of object, such as documents and books, paintings, decorative arts, textiles, metals, or architectural materials.
Classify and assign registration numbers to artifacts and supervise inventory control.
Prepare reports on the operation of conservation laboratories, documenting the condition of artifacts, treatment options, and the methods of preservation and repair used.
Enter information about museum collections into computer databases.
Photograph objects for documentation.
Perform on-site field work which may involve interviewing people, inspecting and identifying artifacts, note-taking, viewing sites and collections, and repainting exhibition spaces.
Determine whether objects need repair and choose the safest and most effective method of repair.
Clean objects, such as paper, textiles, wood, metal, glass, rock, pottery, and furniture, using cleansers, solvents, soap solutions, and polishes.
Enter information about museum collections into computer databases.
Perform on-site field work which may involve interviewing people, inspecting and identifying artifacts, note-taking, viewing sites and collections, and repainting exhibition spaces.
Repair, restore, and reassemble artifacts, designing and fabricating missing or broken parts, to restore them to their original appearance and prevent deterioration.
Lead tours and teach educational courses to students and the general public.
Deliver artwork on courier trips.
Estimate cost of restoration work.
Estimate cost of restoration work.
Notify superior when restoration of artifacts requires outside experts.
Perform on-site field work which may involve interviewing people, inspecting and identifying artifacts, note-taking, viewing sites and collections, and repainting exhibition spaces.
Perform on-site field work which may involve interviewing people, inspecting and identifying artifacts, note-taking, viewing sites and collections, and repainting exhibition spaces.
Coordinate exhibit installations, assisting with design, constructing displays, dioramas, display cases, and models, and ensuring the availability of necessary materials.
Build, repair, and install wooden steps, scaffolds, and walkways to gain access to or permit improved view of exhibited equipment.
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.
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.
Direct and supervise curatorial, technical, and student staff in the handling, mounting, care, and storage of art objects.
Deliver artwork on courier trips.

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

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

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
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.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
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.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
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.
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.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
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.
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.
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.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
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.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
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.

Education

Bachelor's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

58470/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

28.11/hr

Currently Employed

340

Yearly Projected Openings

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Attention to Detail
Dependability
Cooperation
Integrity
Analytical Thinking
Initiative

Adjustable widemouth pliers
Binocular light compound microscopes
Claw hammer
Cold chisels
Compressed air gun
Dental probes or explorers
Desktop computers
Digital cameras
Gas welding or brazing or cutting apparatus
Handheld thermometer
Hygrometers
Infrared imagers
Laboratory scalpels
Mallets
Micrometers
Notebook computers
Paint brushes
Personal computers
Photocopiers
Power drills
Power saws
Scanners
Soldering iron
Stereo or dissecting light microscopes
Stripping tools
Temperature transmitters
Ultraviolet UV lamps
Vacuum cleaner supplies or accessories
Vacuum cleaners
Welder torch
Wire cutters
Wood chisels
X ray radiography examination equipment

Computer aided design CAD software
Data base user interface and query software
Desktop publishing software
Document management software
Electronic mail software
Graphics or photo imaging software
Object oriented data base management software
Office suite software
Presentation software
Spreadsheet software
Web platform development software
Word processing software

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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Museum Technicians and Conservators

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