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| Home > Students > Explore Careers & Majors > Career Profiles > Museums
Museums - What You Need to Know Overview There are over 17,500 museums in the United States and there almost as many museum career options. Museum professionals work for a variety of institutions such as museums, governments, zoos, colleges and universities, and corporations to preserve important objects, documents, and artifacts. Museum professionals encompass a number of separate careers, including archival, curatorial, administration and management, conservation, museum education, and technological work. The amount of specialization required usually depends on the size and budget of the museum. Employees at small local museums may be required to perform a number of functions, while employees at larger institutions are allowed greater specialization. Museums encompass a variety of specific disciplines including:
Despite this variety of careers, the AAM Code of Ethics for Museums states that the common factor between these professions is their “unique contribution to the public by collecting, preserving, and interpreting the things of this world.” Who They Serve: What They Do: Museum Director: According to the AAMD Salary Survey, a museum director is the person who “provides conceptual leadership through specialized knowledge of the discipline of the museum; responsible for policy making and funding, planning, organizing, staffing and directing activities through the staff and may be responsible for financial management.” The director has the ultimate jurisdiction over the holdings of the museum, including jurisdiction over acquisition, exhibition, preservation, study, and interpretation. Museum directors usually have strong curatorial backgrounds before they take on administrative responsibilities. Most have a strong educational background in the field of the museum, and may hold a doctorate in that field. Curator: Curators are responsible for the care and interpretation of artifacts or specimens within their segment of the museum’s collection. In larger museums, each curator usually has a specialty within the overall collection. Curators make recommendations for acquisitions, as well as interpreting the collection through published works or public presentations for scholarly or public audiences and exhibitions. Curators are in charge of exhibit development and execution. Curators are also responsible for making contacts with serious collectors and scholars, who may prove to be future donators. Curators are on occasion responsible for tours. Most curators have a PhD in a discipline relevant to the museum’s collection. Positions such as assistant curator, writer, or research assistant are excellent entry-level opportunities to gain curatorial experience. Archivist: Archivists collect, organize, and maintain control over a museum’s collection. Archivists maintain records according to accepted standards and practices to ensure long-term preservation and easy retrieval of documents. They often specialize in an area of history so as to be more equipped in determining which records qualify for retention. Computers are being increasingly used to generate and maintain archival records, and appropriate computer skills are required. Archivists usually have a Bachelor degree in history or a related subject. Positions such as the archive technician serve as an entry-level position and a way to gain archival experience. Archive Technicians have some knowledge of the subject matter of the collection and usually some experience or courses in archival work. Museum Technician: Museum technicians work directly with curators and collection managers and it is considered a “hands on the collection” position. Museum technicians perform a variety of duties such as researching artifacts, assisting visiting scholars, packing and storing artifacts, assisting with registration activities, recordkeeping, and answering public inquiries. Job activities correspond to the nature of the collection. Museum Technician is considered an entry-level position. A degree is not always required, but most technicians have an undergraduate degree in the field of the museum. Museum Educator: A museum educator is responsible for designing programs targeted to a variety of visitors. This may include creating an assortment of tours, developing interactive education programs, as well as planning special events. Recently many museum education departments have expanded into school programs, and the museum educator is responsible for connecting the museum’s message with a teacher’s curriculum. Museum educators are often responsible for training and scheduling docents and volunteers. Museum educators usually have a background in education and history. Registrar: “The Registrar is responsible not only for making sure that the collection is fully documented and accounted for, but also for making the museum’s cultural resources available to researchers. In smaller museums the position of registrar is often absorbed into the role of curator. Duties may include dealing with research requests, cataloguing objects, or creating finding aids. In many ways the duties and responsibilities of a registrar and an archivist overlap. Training for this position requires experience with information technology, cataloguing schemes, and terminology standardization. An academic background in history, in addition to the technical skills needed for the position, will equip the registrar with the research abilities needed to properly identify and classify collection objects.” Conservator: Conservators are responsible for the state of a museum’s artifacts. They evaluate the condition of the objects, and then treat or repair them to prevent deterioration. This field is highly linked to technology and involves state of the art imaging, chemical analysis techniques and other analytical tools in order to correctly assess the state of deterioration and determine the best conservation method. A background in chemistry is highly desirable along with artistic skills in a particular medium. “Conservators usually have a specialty such as textiles, paintings, photos, wood, books, paper, etc.” Most conservators have an advanced degree in conservation. Museum professionals look for undergraduates with a well-rounded, liberal education for their entry-level employees; whether the student has obtained a B.A or M.A. Most importantly, museum professionals look for someone who can do the job they are hired to do, meaning the applicant must have the appropriate skills and knowledge to become a productive member of their team. Museum professionals want their entry-level employees to be people motivated, good with objects, have a passion for their work, and who are interested in advancing their careers and their museum. is a must. Undergraduates are hired for a number of eProfessionalismntry-level positions, including assistant curators, assistant archivists, museum technicians, and administrative assistants. What Employers Want: Students interested in museum careers should have strong writing, research, organizational, and interpersonal skills. Knowledge of financial management, grant writing and fundraising, museum governance and organization, as well as the use of technology are all essential skills for a career in museums. Additionally, museum professionals see people skills as one of the most important aspects for persons wanting to get ahead in museums. What They Hire Undergraduates to Do: Coming Soon... inCircle - a professional and social networking site for Hopkins students and alumn where you can identify alumni by career field, major and orgnaization. Resources: Internships Industry/ Professional Organizations: Industry Websites: Networking Internships, research positions and summer employment are highly effective ways for you to try out a field, gain experience and skills and make professional contacts. Nonprofit Want to know more about these career fields? Click on them to view their profiles. If you would like to talk about how your search is going, we invite you to make an appointment with a Career Counselor by calling 410-516-8056. Endnotes 1. http://www.aam-us.org/aboutmuseums/abc.cfm |
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