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Museum Technicians and Conservators in Massachusetts

Want to work as a Museum Technicians and Conservators in Massachusetts? Here’s what you need to know. 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.

What do Museum Technicians and Conservators Make in Massachusetts?

The museum technicians and conservators working in Massachusetts, the typical annual salary is $59,130 per year (or roughly $28.43/hour).Pay can range from $37,330 at the 10th percentile to $90,880 at the 90th percentile.

Wage Statistic	Annual	Hourly
10th percentile	$37,330	$17.95
25th percentile	$46,460	$22.34
Median (50th)	$59,130	$28.43
75th percentile	$71,800	$34.52
90th percentile	$90,880	$43.69

The location quotient — a measure of how concentrated this occupation is in Massachusetts nationwide is 0.95.

National Wage Comparison

Nationally, museum technicians and conservators earn a median of $96,273 per year ($46.29/hour), lower than the Massachusetts median.

Employment Outlook

There are roughly 663,035 museum technicians and conservators across the United States. In Massachusetts alone, approximately 290 people work in this role. That puts the state above the typical state, which employs around 160 museum technicians and conservators.

Top Massachusetts Metros for Museum Technicians and Conservators

The metro areas below employ the most museum technicians and conservators in Massachusetts.

Metro Area	Number Employed	Annual Median Salary
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	210	$60,320

Top States for Museum Technicians and Conservators Employment

View the states that employ the most museum technicians and conservators work.

State	Number Employed
California	1,790
New York	1,060
Missouri	1,000
Texas	780
North Carolina	740
Illinois	570
District of Columbia	520
Pennsylvania	470
Maryland	420
Virginia	360
Ohio	330
Massachusetts	290
Washington	270
Tennessee	270
Michigan	250
Minnesota	230
Connecticut	210
Louisiana	210
Indiana	190
Wisconsin	190

Highest-Paying States for Museum Technicians and Conservators

These states pay the most for museum technicians and conservators.

State	Annual Median Salary
District of Columbia	$74,300
Maryland	$72,950
Connecticut	$66,070
New York	$64,680
Alaska	$63,490
Massachusetts	$59,130
California	$58,960
Washington	$58,470
Rhode Island	$54,230
Colorado	$51,780

Skills

The most important museum technicians and conservators skills, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Knowledge Areas

Core knowledge areas for this occupation, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Abilities

Key abilities for museum technicians and conservators, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Daily Tasks

Common tasks include:

• 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.
• Repair, restore, and reassemble artifacts, designing and fabricating missing or broken parts, to restore them to their original appearance and prevent deterioration.
• Clean objects, such as paper, textiles, wood, metal, glass, rock, pottery, and furniture, using cleansers, solvents, soap solutions, and polishes.
• Photograph objects for documentation.
• Determine whether objects need repair and choose the safest and most effective method of repair.
• Prepare artifacts for storage and shipping.
• Enter information about museum collections into computer databases.
• Recommend preservation procedures, such as control of temperature and humidity, to curatorial and building staff.
• Notify superior when restoration of artifacts requires outside experts.
• Supervise and work with volunteers.
• Perform on-site field work which may involve interviewing people, inspecting and identifying artifacts, note-taking, viewing sites and collections, and repainting exhibition spaces.
• Lead tours and teach educational courses to students and the general public.

Work Activities

• Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
• Getting Information
• Handling and Moving Objects
• Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
• Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
• Performing General Physical Activities
• Thinking Creatively
• Documenting/Recording Information
• Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work

Tools & Technology

Technologies frequently used: Hot technologies: Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Creative Cloud software

Related Careers

Careers similar to museum technicians and conservators include:

• Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians
• Conservation Scientists
• Historians
• Chemical Technicians
• Geological Technicians, Except Hydrologic Technicians
• Forest and Conservation Technicians

Also Known As

Archaeological Technician, Armorer Technician, Art Conservator, Art Handler, Art Objects Repairer, Art Preparator, Artifacts Conservator, Ceramic Restorer, Conservation Specialist, Conservation Technician, Conservation Worker, Conservator, Conservator Technician, Document Restorer, Ethnographic Materials Conservator.

References

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — https://www.bls.gov/oes/
• O*NET Online — https://www.onetonline.org/
• BLS Employment Projections — https://www.bls.gov/emp/
• O*NET-SOC code: 25-4013.00