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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

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

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

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

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

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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Statewide occupation search

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Museum Technicians and Conservators

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