Curators
Also called: Art Curator, Art Handler, Coin Collector, Collections Curator, Collections Manager, Content Curator, Curator, Data Curator
Administer collections, such as artwork, collectibles, historic items, or scientific specimens of museums or other institutions.
What curators do
Typical tasks
- 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.
- 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.
- Confer with the board of directors to formulate and interpret policies, to determine budget requirements, and to plan overall operations.
Typical path into the job (BLS)
Curators salary
The median annual wage for curators is $63,420 (BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national). The lowest 10 percent earn less than $40,470 and the highest 10 percent earn more than $107,140. The mean annual wage is $71,560.
The mean hourly wage of $34.00 is 4.7× the federal minimum wage of $7.25. State minimums are higher in most large states. Minimum wage by state →
How does your pay compare with people your age?
Your numbers are not sent or stored. The comparison uses this occupation's BLS wage percentiles, adjusted for age with BLS median weekly earnings by age group (Q3 2026).
Pay by percentile
Annual wage percentiles from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Percentiles are a good proxy for pay by experience.
Projected pay for Curators (3, 5 and 10 years)est.
Today $63,420 → in 3 years $69,300 → in 5 years $73,600 → in 10 years $85,400 (10-year range $73,400–$99,100). The model assumes pay growth of +3.0% per year.
What drives the annual growth rate
Projected pay = current pay × (1 + annual growth)^years. The annual growth rate starts from a base wage-growth rate and adds or subtracts labor demand (BLS projected employment growth), wage momentum and AI replacement risk for each occupation. Projections are not guarantees. How it is calculated →
Outlook score for Curators
Each component is a percentile rank among all occupations in the same country (0–100). Weights: labor demand 25, wage momentum / openings 15, pay level 15, AI resistance 25, aging workforce 10 (Japan only), entry barrier 10.
Will AI replace Curators? AI replacement risk
How AI is changing this job
A written analysis for this occupation is being prepared.
AI replacement risk compares the parts of a job that are easy to hand to AI or software (processing information, documentation, repetitive computer work) with the parts that are hard to automate (physical work, working closely with people, judgment in unpredictable settings), using O*NET work activities, work context, skills and knowledge. The result is a relative position among all occupations in the country, scaled to 0–100%. Methodology →
Labor demand for Curators
Employment projections are from the BLS Employment Projections program (2025–35). Annual openings include both new jobs and replacement of workers who leave the occupation.
The same job in Japan
| Curators United States | 学芸員 Japan | |
|---|---|---|
| Median / average pay | $63,420 | ¥5.83M ≈ $37,094 |
| Pay in 10 years (est.) | $85,400 | ¥7.18M |
| Outlook score | 66 | 51 |
| AI replacement risk | 51% Moderate | 69% High |
| Workers | 12K | — |
Matched by occupation (SOC code). Yen converted at 157.25 JPY/USD for reference; Japanese figures are averages, U.S. figures are medians, and the surveys define occupations differently.
Skills, education and requirements for Curators
Key skills
O*NET skill level ratings (0–7).
Key knowledge areas
What the work involves
Important abilities
Education of workers
Training before entry
Related work experience
Job Zone 5 — extensive preparation needed (O*NET)
Difficulty of entry: ★★★★☆ Demanding (from education, training, experience and Job Zone)
How to become curators
A step-by-step guide for this occupation is being prepared. The education, training and experience data above show the typical path.
Career path and how to earn more as curators
Career-path guidance is being prepared. Pay by percentile is shown in the Pay section.