Often handed to AI
Task areas most often handled directively in observed AI conversations — candidates to delegate with light review.
- Photograph objects for documentation. · 1.1%
- Supervise and work with volunteers. · 0.3%
Museum Technicians and Conservators
Occupation · SOC 25-4013.00
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.
Also called: Conservator · Objects Conservator · Paintings Conservator · Preparator · Art Preparator · Conservation Technician · Exhibit Technician · Museum Registrar · Museum Technician · Paper Conservator · Archaeological Technician · Armorer Technician
Job family: Educational Instruction and Library Occupations
Take this to your AI
A source-stamped Markdown brief of this occupation — paste it into an agent, or fetch
/roles/role-25-4013-00/context.md directly.
AI work map
A fast read on where AI already shows up in this occupation, where it stays a copilot, where humans remain in the loop, and what the labor market is doing. Built from observed Claude.ai conversations mapped to O*NET tasks and from published research — measures of usage and exposure, not advice or predictions that the job is going away.
Use as a copilot
Task areas where people work with AI — iterating, learning, or checking — staying in the loop rather than handing the task off.
- 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. · 0.7%
Keep a human in the loop
Task areas where a human was still judged necessary in a large share of observed conversations — not a safety ruling, an observed-need signal.
- Supervise and work with volunteers. · 100.0% need a human
- 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. · 97.2% need a human
- Photograph objects for documentation. · 96.3% need a human
Skills it runs on
The capabilities O*NET rates most important for this occupation — the human ground the work is built on.
See all skills →Market signal
Independent published positions, read together — not a forecast.
- About average employment outlook (+5.4% by 2034)
- 1,900 openings/yr
- Moderate AI exposure
- Observed AI use leans automation
- Median pay $47,460/yr
- Work is mostly on-site (not teleworkable)
- Both the 2013 computerization estimate and today's AI exposure rank this high
50th-percentile task overlap — yet about 1,900 openings a year (+5.4% projected, BLS), and observed AI use leans 3285% copilot, not hand-off (AEI) . What exposure means →
AI & job outlook
What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.
Exposure to current AI
Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.
| Measure | Rank vs all occupations | Percentile | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.) Moderate | 46th | -0.1 | |
| LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) Moderate | 39th | 0.4 | |
| AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) Moderate | 65th | 0.2 |
OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.1), with simple added tooling (β 0.2), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.4). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.
This job mostly cannot be done remotely (Dingel–Neiman) — its hands-on tasks sit outside what software-based AI reaches.
Historical automation estimate (2013)
A pre-LLM (2013) estimate of how automatable this job is by computerization and robotics. Shown for historical context only — it is not part of any current AI ranking.
Frey–Osborne probability 0.6 · 50th percentile among occupations · Moderate
How AI is actually used in this job
Among measured AI assistant conversations mapped to this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15), these task types came up most. These are shares of observed AI conversations — not shares of the job, of worker time, or of what could be automated.
| Photograph objects for documentation. | 1.4% | |
| 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. | 0.8% | |
| Prepare reports on the operation of conservation laboratories, documenting the condition of artifacts, treatment options, and the methods of preservation and repair used. | 0.7% | |
| Coordinate exhibit installations, assisting with design, constructing displays, dioramas, display cases, and models, and ensuring the availability of necessary materials. | 0.3% | |
| Recommend preservation procedures, such as control of temperature and humidity, to curatorial and building staff. | 0.2% | |
| Estimate cost of restoration work. | 0.2% |
Job outlook
Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.
| Outlook | About average · +5.4% by 2034 |
| Projected annual openings | 1,900 |
| Employment 2024 → 2034 | 15,700 → 16,500 |
“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.
Where this work sits on the global GenAI gradient
The ILO's 2025 global study scores generative-AI exposure on the international ISCO-08 occupation system, not US SOC. Bridged through the published (and approximate, many-to-many) IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 crosswalk, this US occupation corresponds to the international occupation below. Exposure here means how much of the work's tasks today's AI can attempt — task overlap, not automation, adoption, or jobs lost.
Museum Technicians and Conservators sits at the 70th percentile of 427
occupations on the global GenAI task-exposure gradient
— exposure eased from 2023 to 2025. Each dot is one occupation; the
ringed one is this work. Exposure is task overlap, not automation or jobs lost.
37% mean task exposure (2025)
70th percentile of 427 placed occupations
−7 pts shift 2023 → 2025
| International occupation (ISCO-08) | Task exposure (2025) | Most tasks fall in |
|---|---|---|
| Gallery, Museum and Library Technicians · 3433 | 37% | Gradient 1 |
Read the whole six-band gradient on the GenAI exposure gradient page. The crosswalk is approximate: a US occupation can map to several international ones, and the ILO scores describe the international occupation, not this exact US role.
Working with AI in this job
How people actually apply AI to this occupation's tasks, from Claude.ai (Free and Pro) conversations in the Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15. This is one AI assistant's consumer sample — not all AI, not the whole workforce. Autonomy and the collaboration mix are model-rated estimates; figures below the sample floor are hidden.
| Augmentation vs. automation | 32.9% working with AI · 41.0% handed to AI |
| Most common way people use AI here | Directive · AI does it; you give the instruction |
| Typical AI autonomy | 3.5 / 5 · higher = AI acts more independently |
| Used for work (vs. personal / coursework) | 10.9% |
What people delegate to AI
The role's most common tasks in AI conversations, each tagged with how people work with the AI on it. “Usage” is the share of observed conversations, not of the job.
| Task | How | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Photograph objects for documentation. | Directive | 1.1% |
| 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. | Learning | 0.7% |
| Supervise and work with volunteers. | Directive | 0.3% |
Where a human is still needed
Tasks where the model most often judged that a person remained necessary — a useful read on the current boundary, not a guarantee.
| Supervise and work with volunteers. | 100.0% | |
| 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. | 97.2% | |
| Photograph objects for documentation. | 96.3% |
What people most often hand AI here
Example prompts phrased from the tasks people most often delegate to AI in this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index). Each shows the underlying measured task and its share of observed AI use. They are suggested phrasings of real tasks — starting points, not endorsed instructions.
-
Help me photograph objects for documentation.From: Photograph objects for documentation. · 1.1% of measured AI use · directive
-
Help me 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.From: 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. · 0.7% of measured AI use · learning
-
Help me supervise and work with volunteers.From: Supervise and work with volunteers. · 0.3% of measured AI use · directive
Tasks
All 26 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.
- 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. Core · importance 4.4
- Repair, restore, and reassemble artifacts, designing and fabricating missing or broken parts, to restore them to their original appearance and prevent deterioration. Core · importance 4.3
- Classify and assign registration numbers to artifacts and supervise inventory control. Supplemental · importance 4.3
- 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. Supplemental · importance 4.2
- Clean objects, such as paper, textiles, wood, metal, glass, rock, pottery, and furniture, using cleansers, solvents, soap solutions, and polishes. Core · importance 4.2
- Determine whether objects need repair and choose the safest and most effective method of repair. Core · importance 4.2
- Photograph objects for documentation. Core · importance 4.2
- Prepare artifacts for storage and shipping. Core · importance 4.1
- Prepare reports on the operation of conservation laboratories, documenting the condition of artifacts, treatment options, and the methods of preservation and repair used. Supplemental · importance 4.0
- Enter information about museum collections into computer databases. Core · importance 4.0
- Specialize in particular materials or types of object, such as documents and books, paintings, decorative arts, textiles, metals, or architectural materials. Supplemental · importance 3.9
- Recommend preservation procedures, such as control of temperature and humidity, to curatorial and building staff. Core · importance 3.9
- Perform tests and examinations to establish storage and conservation requirements, policies, and procedures. Supplemental · importance 3.9
- Direct and supervise curatorial, technical, and student staff in the handling, mounting, care, and storage of art objects. Supplemental · importance 3.8
- Notify superior when restoration of artifacts requires outside experts. Core · importance 3.7
- Supervise and work with volunteers. Core · importance 3.6
- Coordinate exhibit installations, assisting with design, constructing displays, dioramas, display cases, and models, and ensuring the availability of necessary materials. Supplemental · importance 3.6
- Preserve or direct preservation of objects, using plaster, resin, sealants, hardeners, and shellac. Supplemental · importance 3.5
- Plan and conduct research to develop and improve methods of restoring and preserving specimens. Supplemental · importance 3.4
- Deliver artwork on courier trips. Supplemental · importance 3.4
- Build, repair, and install wooden steps, scaffolds, and walkways to gain access to or permit improved view of exhibited equipment. Supplemental · importance 3.3
- Perform on-site field work which may involve interviewing people, inspecting and identifying artifacts, note-taking, viewing sites and collections, and repainting exhibition spaces. Core · importance 3.2
- Lead tours and teach educational courses to students and the general public. Core · importance 3.1
- Estimate cost of restoration work. Supplemental · importance 3.1
- Construct skeletal mounts of fossils, replicas of archaeological artifacts, or duplicate specimens, using a variety of materials and hand tools. Supplemental
- Cut and weld metal sections in reconstruction or renovation of exterior structural sections and accessories of exhibits. Supplemental
Work activities
- Direct activities of subordinates.
- Document events or evidence, using photographic or audiovisual equipment.
- Plan community programs or activities for the general public.
- Deliver items.
- Operate vehicles or material-moving equipment.
- Enter information into databases or software programs.
- Record research or operational data.
- Construct exhibits or parts of exhibits.
- Prepare materials for preservation, storage, or display.
- Inspect materials or equipment to determine need for repair or replacement.
- Stay informed about current developments in field of specialization.
- Maintain current knowledge related to work activities.
- Advise educators on curricula, instructional methods, or policies.
- Direct department activities.
- Classify materials according to standard systems.
- Review art or design materials.
- Collect information from people through observation, interviews, or surveys.
- Mark materials or objects for identification.
- Apply paint to surfaces.
- Maintain operational records.
- Evaluate characteristics of archival or historical objects.
- Develop policies or procedures for archives, museums or libraries.
- Research topics in area of expertise.
- Discuss problems or issues with supervisors.
- Estimate costs of products, services, or materials.
- Estimate costs of goods or services.
Knowledge, skills & abilities
O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).
Essential skills
| Active Listening | 3.9 | |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.6 | |
| Speaking | 3.6 | |
| Writing | 3.3 | |
| Critical Thinking | 3.3 | |
| Monitoring | 3.1 | |
| Active Learning | 3.0 | |
| Learning Strategies | 2.9 |
Abilities
| Oral Expression | 3.8 | |
| Near Vision | 3.8 | |
| Oral Comprehension | 3.6 | |
| Information Ordering | 3.6 | |
| Written Comprehension | 3.5 | |
| Written Expression | 3.5 | |
| Speech Recognition | 3.5 | |
| Speech Clarity | 3.5 | |
| Originality | 3.4 | |
| Fluency of Ideas | 3.3 | |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.3 | |
| Visualization | 3.3 | |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 3.3 | |
| Finger Dexterity | 3.3 | |
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.1 | |
| Inductive Reasoning | 3.1 | |
| Category Flexibility | 3.1 | |
| Flexibility of Closure | 3.1 | |
| Manual Dexterity | 3.1 | |
| Far Vision | 3.1 | |
| Visual Color Discrimination | 3.1 | |
| Selective Attention | 3.0 |
Knowledge
| Fine Arts | 3.5 | |
| English Language | 3.4 | |
| Public Safety and Security | 3.3 | |
| History and Archeology | 3.2 | |
| Administration and Management | 3.1 | |
| Chemistry | 3.1 |
Transferable skills
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.1 | |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.1 | |
| Coordination | 3.0 | |
| Instructing | 3.0 |
Skills in demand
Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.
Tools & technology
Work context
How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.
How to get in
- Job zone
- Zone 4 — Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
- Education
- Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
- Typical entry-level education
- Bachelor's degree · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement
- Related experience
- A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
- Preparation level
- SVP (7.0 to < 8.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.
What to study: History , Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies , Visual and Performing Arts . Fields of study crosswalked to this occupation (NCES CIP–SOC), not a requirement.
Education of current workers
Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.
| Master's Degree | 41.3% | |
| Bachelor's Degree | 24.1% | |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 20.3% | |
| Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 7.2% | |
| Post-Master's Certificate | 5.8% | |
| High School Diploma | 1.3% |
Interests & work styles
The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.
Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)
| Realistic | 5.7 | |
| Conventional | 4.6 | |
| Investigative | 3.2 | |
| Artistic | 3.1 | |
| Social | 2.6 |
Work styles
| Dependability | 4.0 | |
| Attention to Detail | 3.0 | |
| Cautiousness | 2.6 |
Interest areas
| Humanities | 4.0 | |
| Physical/Manual Labor | 3.2 | |
| Visual Arts | 2.7 | |
| Construction/Woodwork | 2.6 | |
| Applied Arts and Design | 2.5 | |
| Teaching/Education | 2.5 | |
| Mechanics/Electronics | 2.2 | |
| Public Speaking | 2.2 |
Wages & employment
U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)
| 10th percentile | $30,720 |
| 25th percentile | $37,460 |
| Median (50th) | $47,460 |
| 75th percentile | $62,990 |
| 90th percentile | $82,790 |
| People employed | 13,070 |
Industries that employ this occupation
Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.
| Industry | Workers | National median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation · Sector | 7,080 | $45,940 |
| Educational Services · Sector | 1,380 | $54,080 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) · Sector | 290 | $41,200 |
| Information · Sector | 130 | $56,810 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector | — | $40,320 |
| Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities · National industry | — | $40,320 |
Where this work is most concentrated
Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).
| Industry | Concentration | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation · Sector | 31.61× | 7,080 |
| Educational Services · Sector | 1.19× | 1,380 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) · Sector | 0.77× | 290 |
| Information · Sector | 0.53× | 130 |
Related occupations
Part of the Hospitality, Events, & Tourism career cluster.
- Curators · 25-4012.00 Compare →
- Set and Exhibit Designers · 27-1027.00 Compare →
- Archivists · 25-4011.00 Compare →
- Historians · 19-3093.00 Compare →
- Craft Artists · 27-1012.00 Compare →
- Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators · 27-1013.00 Compare →
- Painters, Construction and Maintenance · 47-2141.00 Compare →
- Forest and Conservation Technicians · 19-4071.00 Compare →
- Chemical Technicians · 19-4031.00 Compare →
- Librarians and Media Collections Specialists · 25-4022.00 Compare →
- Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers · 51-9123.00 Compare →
- Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary · 25-1194.00 Compare →
Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.
What you can do with this
Options the data surfaces for Museum Technicians and Conservators — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.
Skills that travel
Capabilities this work builds that are used across many other occupations.
Adjacent roles
Occupations O*NET rates as related — the nearby moves on the map.
Paths in
How people typically prepare for this work.
- Bachelor's degree · typical entry level
- Job zone 4 — Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed · preparation tier
- History · field of study
- Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies · field of study
Zoom out
On the global GenAI exposure gradient this work sits around the 70th percentile of 427 international occupations.
Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation
Museum Technicians and Conservators show 50th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 1,900 annual U.S. openings
- Museum Technicians and Conservators rank in the 50th percentile (Moderate band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated.Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE
- The occupation is projected to see about 1,900 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- BLS projects employment to be about average (+5.4%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- Median annual pay is $47,460, across about 13,070 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
- Of the AI use actually observed for this work, 33% looks like augmentation (drafting, iterating, checking) rather than hands-off automation — from a Claude.ai usage sample, not a census.2026-01-15-v4-plus-2025-03-27-v2
Copy the whole kit
Museum Technicians and Conservators show 50th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 1,900 annual U.S. openings • Museum Technicians and Conservators rank in the 50th percentile (Moderate band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated. (Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE) • The occupation is projected to see about 1,900 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • BLS projects employment to be about average (+5.4%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • Median annual pay is $47,460, across about 13,070 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024)) • Of the AI use actually observed for this work, 33% looks like augmentation (drafting, iterating, checking) rather than hands-off automation — from a Claude.ai usage sample, not a census. (2026-01-15-v4-plus-2025-03-27-v2) Source: Singulariki — "Museum Technicians and Conservators". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-25-4013-00 Note: AI task overlap measures what today's AI can attempt, not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
AssetsShare imageMethodology & sourcesPress & newsroomThe newsroom
Every line is built only from figures this page already shows and cites. AI task overlap means what today's AI can attempt — not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
Sources for this page
Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.
- O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
- Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
- “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
- AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
- ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
- IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
- Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation academic
- Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Plain
Singulariki. "Museum Technicians and Conservators." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-25-4013-00
APA
Singulariki. (2026). Museum Technicians and Conservators. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-25-4013-00
BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-25-4013-00,
title = {Museum Technicians and Conservators},
author = {{Singulariki}},
year = {2026},
note = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
url = {https://singulariki.com/roles/role-25-4013-00}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.