Museum Curator

While we’re all familiar with the movie “A Night at the Museum,” wouldn’t it be cool to spend your day at the museum managing collections, and choosing and acquiring new pieces?

If you said yes, then we have a job for you.

All types of museums require at least one curator. The museum or gallery curator will usually have a background or passion in art, history, archaeology and anthropology, although there are exceptions.

A curator possesses in-depth knowledge of a particular field. The position generally requires a master’s degree and in many cases a doctoral in a specific area. Most natural history and science museums require a PhD.

Other key attributes a curator carries are patience, attention to detail, organizational skills, and the ability to communicate well. Also, depending on the size of the museum, the curator may have significant managerial and administrative duties.

In the last decade to boost dwindling funding and endowments, the role has expanded to include public relations, marketing, fundraising and education programs. The curator is no longer a purely academic research position and nowadays, they’re expected to generate budgets and build relationships with both internal and external partners and stakeholders.

Admin duties aside, it’s extremely important for a curator to be able to evaluate collection items, verify the authenticity of pieces and negotiate prices for acquiring new works. Convincing miserly museum trustees that their acquisitions are worthwhile is no easy task.

So what’s an acquirer of great antiquities, restoration supervisor, proposal writing, budget planning curator make? While it depends on the museum’s financial status, starting salary can reach $45,000 with mid-career curators collecting around $75,000.

Sound appealing? Dig up more info here.