Museum Technicians and Conservators
Restore, maintain, or prepare objects in museum collections for storage, research, or exhibit. May work with specimens such as fossils, skeletal parts, or botanicals; or artifacts, textiles, or art. May identify and record objects or install and arrange them in exhibits. Includes book or document conservators.
12,310 people do this job in the US. $51,440 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 39%
- 0%
- 61%
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, 3%. Today's estimate: 4%.
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 . 24 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Repair, restore, and reassemble artifacts, designing and fabricating missing or broken parts, to restore them to their original appearance and prevent deterioration.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 15% | 1.3 work days1.7 h to 1.7 work weeks | Stays with people | |
| Specialize in particular materials or types of object, such as documents and books, paintings, decorative arts, textiles, metals, or architectural materials.Done daily by most who do it. | 15% | 4.2 work days6.7 h to 3.5 work weeks | 0%Half by Apr 2029 | |
| Plan and conduct research to develop and improve methods of restoring and preserving specimens.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 15% | 4.2 work days6.7 h to 3.3 work weeks | 0%Half by Apr 2029 | |
| 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.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 7% | 3.3 h1.3 h to 1.7 work days | Stays with people | |
| Study object documentation or conduct standard chemical and physical tests to ascertain the object's age, composition, original appearance, need for treatment or restoration, and appropriate preservation method.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 3.3 h50 min to 2.1 work days | Stays with people | |
| Perform tests and examinations to establish storage and conservation requirements, policies, and procedures.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 7% | 5 h1.3 h to 2.5 work days | Stays with people | |
| Clean objects, such as paper, textiles, wood, metal, glass, rock, pottery, and furniture, using cleansers, solvents, soap solutions, and polishes.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 2.5 h38 min to 1.7 work days | Stays with people | |
| Prepare reports on the operation of conservation laboratories, documenting the condition of artifacts, treatment options, and the methods of preservation and repair used.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 4% | 2.5 h50 min to 1 work day | 40%Half by Dec 2026 | |
| Direct and supervise curatorial, technical, and student staff in the handling, mounting, care, and storage of art objects.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 1.7 h25 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Determine whether objects need repair and choose the safest and most effective method of repair.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 1.3 h25 min to 4.2 h | Stays with people | |
| Supervise and work with volunteers.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 1.7 h25 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Coordinate exhibit installations, assisting with design, constructing displays, dioramas, display cases, and models, and ensuring the availability of necessary materials.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 2% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 1.7 work weeks | Stays with people |
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).