Curators
Also called: Collections Curator, Collections Manager, Curator, Museum CuratorAdminister 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.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 12 of its 15 tasks, yet jobs are projected to grow 4.9% by 2035. In the most exposed occupations, the squeeze shows up first among early-career workers. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 4.1% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Archivists, curators, and museum technicians”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 11.1 hires for every 10 job openings in arts, entertainment, and recreation, which employs about 58% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.11.1 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $61,120 | $47,120 to $75,270 | 150 |
| Alaska | $63,880 | $59,260 to $74,460 | 90 |
| Arizona | $63,510 | $51,960 to $94,920 | 150 |
| Arkansas | $53,870 | $46,240 to $73,990 | 80 |
| California | $78,740 | $66,480 to $99,430 | 1,140 |
| Colorado | $73,630 | $60,460 to $88,740 | 300 |
| Connecticut | $76,510 | $59,500 to $102,110 | 190 |
| Delaware | $56,800 | $49,070 to $76,060 | 60 |
| District of Columbia | $93,310 | $74,030 to $111,530 | 140 |
| Florida | $59,500 | $46,070 to $78,720 | 420 |
| Georgia | $57,810 | $46,860 to $77,270 | 230 |
| Hawaii | $50,720 | $40,640 to $79,750 | 140 |
| Idaho | $62,190 | $44,610 to $63,360 | 50 |
| Illinois | $63,060 | $48,320 to $80,410 | 410 |
| Indiana | $53,910 | $44,720 to $63,380 | 220 |
| Iowa | $53,830 | $41,600 to $66,470 | 230 |
| Kansas | $56,630 | $42,790 to $74,370 | 120 |
| Kentucky | $55,460 | $42,710 to $76,710 | 130 |
| Louisiana | $60,080 | $47,390 to $70,440 | 160 |
| Maine | $56,470 | $49,550 to $65,350 | 110 |
| Maryland | $63,750 | $53,660 to $84,150 | 170 |
| Massachusetts | $77,790 | $58,380 to $97,880 | 370 |
| Michigan | $63,190 | $47,700 to $82,240 | 360 |
| Minnesota | $53,920 | $39,250 to $76,290 | 220 |
| Mississippi | $40,600 | $35,910 to $55,470 | 30 |
| Missouri | $59,960 | $46,780 to $80,830 | 260 |
| Montana | $54,460 | $39,670 to $61,140 | 100 |
| Nebraska | $58,600 | $45,240 to $77,460 | 120 |
| Nevada | $69,900 | $53,140 to $83,880 | 100 |
| New Hampshire | $82,490 | $57,720 to $97,280 | 60 |
| New Jersey | $77,800 | $58,280 to $93,240 | 120 |
| New Mexico | $63,690 | $52,070 to $64,830 | 140 |
| New York | $79,120 | $58,340 to $103,240 | 1,330 |
| North Carolina | $49,470 | $47,560 to $69,360 | 600 |
| Ohio | $63,640 | $46,270 to $84,590 | 370 |
| Oklahoma | $60,560 | $47,570 to $75,190 | 150 |
| Oregon | $62,790 | $46,210 to $77,870 | 260 |
| Pennsylvania | $62,100 | $48,590 to $85,490 | 520 |
| Rhode Island | $77,930 | $64,430 to $104,350 | 70 |
| South Carolina | $47,200 | $41,990 to $69,060 | 120 |
| South Dakota | $74,990 | $57,460 to $95,780 | 50 |
| Tennessee | $57,580 | $46,530 to $76,690 | 190 |
| Texas | $59,990 | $50,120 to $77,350 | 690 |
| Utah | $59,910 | $46,380 to $73,630 | 50 |
| Vermont | $56,520 | $36,810 to $72,190 | 60 |
| Virginia | $58,200 | $44,410 to $79,500 | 450 |
| Washington | $74,030 | $58,740 to $93,090 | 260 |
| Wisconsin | $64,370 | $57,180 to $78,260 | 300 |
| Wyoming | $61,910 | $39,160 to $74,060 | 90 |
Nationally: $63,420. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 12 of its 15 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| AI + software | 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. | Not published |
| AI + software | Provide information from the institution's holdings to other curators and to the public. | Not published |
| AI + software | Plan and conduct special research projects in area of interest or expertise. | 0.01% |
| AI alone | Design, organize, or conduct tours, workshops, and instructional or educational sessions to acquaint individuals with an institution's facilities and materials. | Not published |
| AI alone | Negotiate and authorize purchase, sale, exchange, or loan of collections. | Not published |
| Not much | Attend meetings, conventions, and civic events to promote use of institution's services, to seek financing, and to maintain community alliances. | Not published |
See all 15 tasks
| Not much | Train and supervise curatorial, fiscal, technical, research, and clerical staff, as well as volunteers or interns. | Not published |
| AI alone | Write and review grant proposals, journal articles, institutional reports, and publicity materials. | 0.07% |
| AI + software | Study, examine, and test acquisitions to authenticate their origin, composition, history, and to assess their current value. | Not published |
| AI + software | Develop and maintain an institution's registration, cataloging, and basic record-keeping systems, using computer databases. | Not published |
| Not much | Inspect premises to assess the need for repairs and to ensure that climate and pest control issues are addressed. | Not published |
| AI + software | Confer with the board of directors to formulate and interpret policies, to determine budget requirements, and to plan overall operations. | Not published |
| AI alone | Schedule events and organize details, including refreshment, entertainment, decorations, and the collection of any fees. | under 0.01% |
| AI + software | Arrange insurance coverage for objects on loan or for special exhibits and recommend changes in coverage for the entire collection. | Not published |
| AI + software | Establish specifications for reproductions and oversee their manufacture or select items from commercially available replica sources. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 3 of the 15 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 15 tasks fall under 18 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #4 Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise
- #5 Provide information or assistance to the public
- #10 Write material for artistic or commercial purposes
- and 1 more, in the table below
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purchase goods or services | |||
| Plan events or programs | |||
| Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise | |||
| Provide information or assistance to the public | |||
| Write material for artistic or commercial purposes | |||
| Promote products, services, or programs | |||
| Communicate with others about operational plans or activities | |||
| Execute financial transactions |
Show all 18 activities
| Inspect characteristics or conditions of materials or products | |||
| Evaluate scholarly work | |||
| Inspect facilities or equipment | |||
| Build structures | |||
| Train others on operational or work procedures | |||
| Prepare proposals or grant applications | |||
| Negotiate contracts or agreements | |||
| Design databases | |||
| Supervise personnel activities | |||
| Replenish inventories of materials, equipment, or products |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- A document or report46%
- An academic paper or thesis25%
- An explanation or answer10%
- A resume or job application7%
- An analysis or summary2%
How they worked with Claude
46% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for curators specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 5,742 moves out
- 1 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 7%
- 2 Postsecondary Teachers, All Other Very high +2.0% 6%
- 3 Management Analysts Very high +10.1% 6%
- 4 General and Operations Managers High +5.0% 4%
- 5 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers Moderate +3.8% 3%
Where people moved in from
of 5,901 moves in
- 1 Waiters and Waitresses Moderate +2.0% 8%
- 2 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 6%
- 3 Management Analysts Very high +10.1% 3%
- 4 General and Operations Managers High +5.0% 3%
- 5 Postsecondary Teachers, All Other Very high +2.0% 3%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 3% some college
- 1% associate's
- 6% bachelor's
- 8% post-bachelor's certificate
- 44% master's
- 35% research doctorate
- 2% post-doctoral training
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 34 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 1% less than high school
- 5% high school
- 11% some college
- 3% associate's
- 37% bachelor's
- 36% master's
- 1% professional degree
- 5% doctorate
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Archivists, curators, and museum technicians” · 1,097 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Archivists, curators, and museum technicians”
6 programs, such as Museology/Museum Studies, Digital Humanities and Textual Studies, General and Digital Humanities.
See all
- Museology/Museum Studies
- Digital Humanities and Textual Studies, General
- Digital Humanities
- Textual Studies
- Art History, Criticism and Conservation
- Public/Applied History
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
38.9% this occupation
45.3% all occupations
| By kind | This occupation | All occupations |
|---|---|---|
| a license | <0.5% | 19.1% |
| a certification | <0.5% | 5.8% |
| an educational certificate | <0.5% | 2.8% |
Share of jobs whose employer requires it. BLS doesn't say which credential. How to read this
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeships: DOL's list of apprenticeable occupations doesn't include this one.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS · Brynjolfsson, Chandar and Chen, Stanford (Aug 2026)
See it online, and explore any career: https://www.pathmosaic.com/card/25-4012.00