DETAILED OCCUPATION DATA
25-4013 Museum Technicians and Conservators
Occupational Description:
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.| Percentiles | |||||||||
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| Geography | Employment | Emp SE* | Mean | Mean SE* | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
| Minnesota | 220 | 30 | $21.09/hr | $0.89/hr | $13.16/hr | $16.28/hr | $20.22/hr | $24.87/hr | $29.47/hr |
| U S | 13,190 | 435 | $23.33/hr | $0.33/hr | $12.68/hr | $16.29/hr | $21.58/hr | $28.40/hr | $37.08/hr |
| *SE = Standard error, a measure of the statistical reliability of the estimate. | |||||||||
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| Occupation (click title for details) | OES | Projections | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | Median Wage | % Change 2023 - 2025 | |
| Food Batchmakers | 3,700 | $17.04/hr | 1.4% |
| Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors | 450 | $44.38/hr | 1.4% |
| Medical Appliance Technicians | 430 | $24.61/hr | N/A |
| Costume Attendants | 210 | $23.84/hr | 1.0% |
| Set and Exhibit Designers | 130 | $25.42/hr | 1.5% |
Tasks for Museum Technicians and Conservators
- Preserves or directs preservation of objects, using plaster, resin, sealants, hardeners, and shellac.
- Cuts and welds metal sections in reconstruction or renovation of exterior structural sections and accessories of exhibits.
- Designs and fabricates missing or broken parts.
- Builds, repairs, and installs wooden steps, scaffolds, and walkways to gain access to or permit improved view of exhibited equipment.
- Estimates cost of restoration work.
- Directs curatorial and technical staff in handling, mounting, care, and storage of art objects.
- Notifies superior when restoration of artifact requires outside experts.
- Prepares reports of activities and documents methods of preservation and repair.
- Plans and conducts research to develop and improve methods of restoring and preserving specimens.
- Installs, arranges, assembles, and prepares artifacts for exhibition.
- Recommends preservation measures, such as control of temperature, humidity, and exposure to light, to curatorial and building maintenance staff.
- Evaluates need for repair and determines safest and most effective method of treating surface of object.
- Constructs skeletal mounts of fossils, replicas of archaeological artifacts, or duplicate specimens, using variety of materials and hand tools.
- Repairs or reassembles broken objects, using glue, solder, hand tools, power tools, and small machines.
- Studies descriptive information on object or conducts standard chemical and physical tests to determine age, composition, and original appearance.
- Cleans objects, such as paper, textiles, wood, metal, glass, rock, pottery, and furniture, using cleansers, solvents, soap solutions, and polishes.
- Repairs and restores surfaces of artifacts to original appearance and to prevent deterioration, according to accepted procedures.
