Museum Technicians and Conservators

Salary Overview

Job Outlook (2024–2034)

Key Skills

Knowledge Areas

What They Do

• 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.

Tools & Technology

★ = Hot Technology (in-demand)

Education Requirements

Typical entry-level education: Master's Degree

Related Careers

Careers with the highest skill compatibility from Museum Technicians and Conservators.

A Day in the Life

A typical day begins with reviewing conservation treatment plans or exhibition installation schedules and prioritizing tasks based on upcoming deadlines. Conservators examine objects under various lighting conditions including ultraviolet and infrared, documenting condition with detailed written reports and photographs. Treatment work fills the core of the day—cleaning surfaces, stabilizing deteriorating materials, repairing structural damage, and retouching losses using reversible conservation-grade materials. Museum technicians prepare gallery spaces for new exhibitions, fabricating custom mounts, building display cases, installing lighting, and positioning objects according to curator specifications. Environmental monitoring is an ongoing responsibility, checking temperature, humidity, and light levels in galleries and storage areas to prevent damage. Handling and moving fragile objects requires specialized techniques, custom cradles, and meticulous planning to prevent any harm during transportation. Conservators consult with curators, registrars, and exhibition designers about display recommendations, loan conditions, and storage requirements. Documentation of all observations, treatments, and interventions is maintained in conservation databases, creating permanent records that accompany objects throughout their institutional lives.

Work Environment

Conservation labs are specialized workspaces equipped with fume hoods, microscopes, analytical instruments, and climate-controlled treatment areas. The environment is quiet and focused, requiring sustained concentration and steady hands for delicate treatment procedures. Museum galleries and storage areas serve as secondary work locations for condition assessments, installations, and environmental monitoring. Exposure to solvents, adhesives, and other chemical materials requires strict adherence to safety protocols including PPE use and ventilation. Most institutions operate on standard weekday schedules, though exhibition installation deadlines and emergency situations occasionally require evening or weekend work. Travel opportunities arise for examining objects at lending institutions, conducting treatments at archaeological sites, or presenting at professional conferences. The work pace is deliberate rather than fast, as thoroughness and caution take priority over speed in treating irreplaceable objects. Team environments bring together conservators, curators, registrars, designers, and art handlers in collaborative project planning and execution.

Career Path & Advancement

Conservation careers typically require a master's degree from an accredited graduate conservation program, which itself requires significant undergraduate preparation. Undergraduate studies should include art history or studio art alongside chemistry, biology, and physics coursework to qualify for competitive graduate programs. Pre-program internships of one to three years working in conservation labs are strongly recommended and often required for graduate admission. Graduate conservation programs are three to four years long, combining advanced conservation science, treatment techniques, and capstone research projects. Post-graduate fellowships lasting one to three years at major institutions like the Met, Smithsonian, or Getty provide essential independent practice experience. Museum technician positions require a bachelor's degree in art, museum studies, or a related field, with advancement through experience and specialized skills. Career progression moves from assistant conservator to associate conservator, conservator, and eventually chief or head conservator within an institution. Some conservators enter private practice, establishing independent conservation studios serving multiple institutions, collectors, and galleries.

Specializations

Paintings conservators focus on oil, acrylic, and tempera works on canvas, panel, and other supports, addressing issues from surface cleaning to structural lining. Paper conservators treat works on paper including prints, drawings, watercolors, photographs, books, and archival documents. Objects conservators handle three-dimensional artifacts across diverse materials including ceramics, metals, glass, stone, and composite objects. Textile conservators preserve historic fabrics, garments, tapestries, and fiber-based artworks using wet cleaning, structural support, and environmental stabilization. Frames and furniture conservators specialize in wooden objects, applying knowledge of joinery, gilding, and decorative surface techniques. Archaeological conservators work with excavated materials, often performing emergency stabilization in field conditions before objects reach laboratory settings. Preventive conservation specialists focus on environmental management, pest control, emergency preparedness, and collection storage standards rather than treating individual objects. Digital preservation specialists address the emerging challenge of conserving born-digital art, electronic media, and technology-dependent artworks.

Pros & Cons

Industry Insight

Scientific analysis using techniques like X-ray fluorescence, infrared reflectography, and Raman spectroscopy is becoming increasingly central to conservation practice and research. Climate change poses growing threats to cultural heritage through flooding, wildfires, and environmental shifts that are expanding collections care challenges. Diversity and access initiatives are expanding conservation attention to underrepresented cultural materials and community-based preservation projects. Digital documentation tools including 3D scanning, photogrammetry, and multispectral imaging are transforming how conservators record and analyze objects. The conservation profession faces workforce shortages, particularly in specialties like archaeological conservation and natural history specimen preservation. Sustainability practices in conservation are evolving, with the field addressing its own environmental impact through greener materials and energy-efficient storage. Museum funding constraints affect conservation department staffing and budgets, pushing some institutions toward shared conservation services and regional centers. Private practice conservation is growing as private collectors, galleries, and smaller institutions that cannot support full-time staff seek freelance conservation expertise.