Salary and Outlook
According to the US Department of Labor, there are 12,900 people employed as curators in
the United States.
The median annual salary is $60,110.
Entry level employees earn approximately $35,990 per year and senior employees earn approximately $98,490
per year.
Estimates do not include other potential benefits such as health insurance, overtime, or retirement benefits that may be offered by employers.
Job Duties
- Schedule events and organize details, including refreshment, entertainment, decorations, and the collection of any fees.
- Establish specifications for reproductions and oversee their manufacture or select items from commercially available replica sources.
- Provide information from the institution's holdings to other curators and to the public.
- Negotiate and authorize purchase, sale, exchange, or loan of collections.
- Study, examine, and test acquisitions to authenticate their origin, composition, history, and to assess their current value.
- Inspect premises to assess the need for repairs and to ensure that climate and pest control issues are addressed.
- Write and review grant proposals, journal articles, institutional reports, and publicity materials.
- Design, organize, or conduct tours, workshops, and instructional or educational sessions to acquaint individuals with an institution's facilities and materials.
- Attend meetings, conventions, and civic events to promote use of institution's services, to seek financing, and to maintain community alliances.
- Train and supervise curatorial, fiscal, technical, research, and clerical staff, as well as volunteers or interns.
- Plan and organize the acquisition, storage, and exhibition of collections and related materials, including the selection of exhibition themes and designs, and develop or install exhibit materials.
- Develop and maintain an institution's registration, cataloging, and basic record-keeping systems, using computer databases.
- Plan and conduct special research projects in area of interest or expertise.
- Confer with the board of directors to formulate and interpret policies, to determine budget requirements, and to plan overall operations.
- Arrange insurance coverage for objects on loan or for special exhibits and recommend changes in coverage for the entire collection.