Museum Technicians and Conservators

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.

Most important skills

Reading Comprehension
Active Listening
Speaking
Writing
Critical Thinking
Monitoring
Complex Problem Solving
Judgment and Decision Making

Key knowledge

Chemistry
Fine Arts
History and Archeology
English Language
Education and Training
Administrative
Computers and Electronics
Design

What the work involves

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.
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.
Clean objects, such as paper, textiles, wood, metal, glass, rock, pottery, and furniture, using cleansers, solvents, soap solutions, and polishes.
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.
Recommend preservation procedures, such as control of temperature and humidity, to curatorial and building staff.

Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.

Qualifications and licensing

Most common education: Master's Degree (73.1% of expert ratings)
Related experience: Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (60%)
On-the-job training: Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (20%)
Preparation level: O*NET job zone 5: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
Licensing: Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.

Check before planning

Licensing for Museum Technicians and Conservators is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.

Limits

Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0

Work environment

How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).

Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.

Rankings compare typical U.S. occupation-level work conditions; individual jobs and employers vary. Data: O*NET 31.0 Work Context and BLS wages (May 2025).
Condition	Level	Compared with other occupations	Most common answer (O*NET survey)
Contact with others	Very low	Lower on contact with others than 96% of occupations compared	50% of surveyed respondents chose “Contact with others most of the time”
Dealing with the public	Very low	Lower on dealing with the public than 85% of occupations compared	54% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly important”
Teamwork	Low	Lower on teamwork than 75% of occupations compared	50% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important”
Freedom to make decisions	High	Higher on freedom to make decisions than 67% of occupations compared	50% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom”
Time pressure	Very low	Lower on time pressure than 81% of occupations compared	46% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week”
Conflict situations	Very low	Lower on conflict situations than 88% of occupations compared	52% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month”
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people	Very low	Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 97% of occupations compared	58% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month”
Consequence of error	High	Higher on consequence of error than 74% of occupations compared	38% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious”

Work-pressure profile

Time pressure: very low
Conflict situations: very low
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very low
Consequence of error: high

Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.

Full answer distributions