Museums and You

There are a number of career options available when you have a degree in museum studies. You are not simply limited to working within a museum, though you may choose to do just that. Many of the job types and titles are open in various institutions and the skills gained from the museum studies degree program enables you to go straight into a career or continue your education to better focus your path.

Museum Technician

Museum technicians utilize the skills they learned during their courses in a museum studies program to assist curators. They maintain artifacts in the museum and prepare them for display, tours, cataloguing and archiving. They use their technical knowledge and skills to preserve and research artifacts as well as organizing and maintaining databases to keep track of the items in the museum. Museum technicians earn about $34,000 per year.

Curator

Curators handle the administration of museums and other institutions such as botanical gardens, zoos, aquariums and historical sites. The curator uses the administrative knowledge from the museum studies degree program to take care of the collections in their care. They arrange the acquisition, sale, exchange, loan and purchase of items in their collection. Their museum studies degree also affords them the knowledge that allows them to authenticate and categorize items in the collect and select new pieces for the museum. Curators also develop research programs, fundraising events and promotion events for the institution. A curator’s salary is typically around $42,000 per year.

Development Coordinator

The museum development coordinator handles many functions within the museum. Most museum studies degree programs have a fair amount of administrative and management courses that teach would-be coordinators and curators how to run the museum. The development coordinator uses these skills to handle aspects like planning strategies, soliciting donations, accepting gifts, increasing membership, setting development goals and recruiting volunteers. The development coordinator earns about $32,000 per year.