Curators
Administer collections, such as artwork, collectibles, historic items, or scientific specimens of museums or other institutions. May conduct instructional, research, or public service activities of institution.
12,150 people do this job in the US. $63,420 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 52%
- 7%
- 41%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 2%. Today's estimate: 3%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 15 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan and conduct special research projects in area of interest or expertise.Done more than yearly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 26% | 1.7 work weeks4.2 work days to 1.5 work months | 0%Half by Mar 2029 | |
| 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.Done more than monthly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 26% | 2.1 work weeks4.2 work days to 1.6 work months | Stays with people | |
| Develop and maintain an institution's registration, cataloging, and basic record-keeping systems, using computer databases.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 20% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 4.2 work days | 6%Half by Jan 2028 | |
| Study, examine, and test acquisitions to authenticate their origin, composition, history, and to assess their current value.Done more than yearly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 7% | 6.7 h2.5 h to 1 work week | Stays with people | |
| Write and review grant proposals, journal articles, institutional reports, and publicity materials.Done more than monthly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 5% | 6.7 h3.3 h to 4.2 work days | 9%Half by Aug 2027 | |
| Train and supervise curatorial, fiscal, technical, research, and clerical staff, as well as volunteers or interns.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 4% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Design, organize, or conduct tours, workshops, and instructional or educational sessions to acquaint individuals with an institution's facilities and materials.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 2% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 1.3 work days | Stays with people | |
| Attend meetings, conventions, and civic events to promote use of institution's services, to seek financing, and to maintain community alliances.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 2% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 1 work day | Stays with people | |
| Inspect premises to assess the need for repairs and to ensure that climate and pest control issues are addressed.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 2% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Negotiate and authorize purchase, sale, exchange, or loan of collections.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 2% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 3.3 work days | Stays with people | |
| Schedule events and organize details, including refreshment, entertainment, decorations, and the collection of any fees.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 2% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 2.5 work days | Stays with people | |
| Provide information from the institution's holdings to other curators and to the public.Done more than monthly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 1% | 50 min13 min to 2.5 h | 79%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).