There are a number of career options available when you have a degree
in museum studies. You are not simply limited to working within a museum,
though you may choose to do just that. Many of the job types and titles
are open in various institutions and the skills gained from the museum
studies degree program enables you to go straight into a career or continue
your education to better focus your path.
Museum Technician
Museum technicians utilize the skills they learned during their courses
in a museum studies program to assist curators. They maintain artifacts
in the museum and prepare them for display, tours, cataloguing and archiving.
They use their technical knowledge and skills to preserve and research
artifacts as well as organizing and maintaining databases to keep track
of the items in the museum. Museum technicians earn about $34,000 per
year.
Curator
Curators handle the administration of museums and other institutions
such as botanical gardens, zoos, aquariums and historical sites. The curator
uses the administrative knowledge from the museum studies degree program
to take care of the collections in their care. They arrange the acquisition,
sale, exchange, loan and purchase of items in their collection. Their
museum studies degree also affords them the knowledge that allows them
to authenticate and categorize items in the collect and select new pieces
for the museum. Curators also develop research programs, fundraising events
and promotion events for the institution. A curator’s salary is
typically around $42,000 per year.
Development Coordinator
The museum development coordinator handles many functions within the
museum. Most museum studies degree programs have a fair amount of administrative
and management courses that teach would-be coordinators and curators how
to run the museum. The development coordinator uses these skills to handle
aspects like planning strategies, soliciting donations, accepting gifts,
increasing membership, setting development goals and recruiting volunteers.
The development coordinator earns about $32,000 per year.
