KEY QUESTIONS
Before you consider a career as an archivist, curator, or museum worker, you might want to consider these questions:
Financial 1. Is the cost of your tuition prohibitive to your desired lifestyle? 2. What is the expected salary range for this career? 3. If you have taken out student loans, can you afford to repay them on your expected salary? 4. Will you work full time or part-time to support yourself? Logistical 1. Can you finish your degree in the time allotted? When do you need to finish the program? 2. Are there any additional certifications or education that you need? If they are not mandatory, how would they help your career? Personal 1. Why have you chosen this field? 2. What skills do you want to most use to help others? How will that impact the specialization(s) you choose? 3. Have you considered your personal goals along with your professional goals? |
COMMON SKILLS USED IN THESE CAREERS
Analytical skills: Archivists, curators, registrars, and conservators need excellent analytical skills to determine the origin, history, and importance of many of the objects they work with.
Computer skills: Archivists should have good computer skills because they use and develop complex databases related to the materials they store and access.
Customer-service skills: Archivists, curators, and registrars work with the general public on a regular basis. They must be courteous and friendly and be able to help users find materials.
Organizational skills: Archivists, curators, registrars, and conservators must be able to store and easily retrieve records and documents. They also must develop logical systems of storage for the public to use.
Technical skills: Many historical objects need to be analyzed and preserved. Conservators must use the appropriate chemicals and techniques to preserve the different objects they deal with. Examples of these objects are documents, paintings, fabrics, and pottery.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Writing: Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Active Learning: Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Computer skills: Archivists should have good computer skills because they use and develop complex databases related to the materials they store and access.
Customer-service skills: Archivists, curators, and registrars work with the general public on a regular basis. They must be courteous and friendly and be able to help users find materials.
Organizational skills: Archivists, curators, registrars, and conservators must be able to store and easily retrieve records and documents. They also must develop logical systems of storage for the public to use.
Technical skills: Many historical objects need to be analyzed and preserved. Conservators must use the appropriate chemicals and techniques to preserve the different objects they deal with. Examples of these objects are documents, paintings, fabrics, and pottery.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Writing: Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Active Learning: Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.