10 Top Jobs in Fine Art Museums

A museum archivist is responsible for the archival collection housed in the museum.

Back in the 20th century, archiving was achieved by categorizing items on index cards. Welcome modern technology, and now ​categorizing is being done in every state-of-the-art museum's cataloging database.

Society of American Archivists lists info for archivists.

A small museum (such as the world-renown Barnes in Philadelphia) has very different needs than large institutions like New York's Museum of Modern Art. Hence, there are fewer positions available. Depending on the size of the museum, there will be varying levels of curators from assistant curator to the chief curator. Art history degrees are usually mandatory for these positions.

Art Museum technicians are instrumental during the crucial installation phase of an exhibition. Exhibits can vary in size from one-room exhibits at small museums to large exhibitions (by a famed artist) that take over the entire institution. The size of the museum (and whether or not they tend to have regular artist-wide exhibitions) will determine the size of the technician staff. If necessary, a small museum will bring in extra freelance technicians to assist with an exhibit's installation. 

Skills required to be an Art Museum Technician include experience with lighting design, electrical work, computer and digital media setup and the ability to handle any technical or maintenance problem that might arise.

The education department of an art museum functions like the museum's backbone. This department provides community outreach and programming for children and adults. Staffers design school tours and interactive programs and also function as docents who give guided tours and talks.

A museum's marketing department is tasked with working on the museum's promotion, sales, sponsorship and all ancillary marketing campaigns. These staffers include marketing professionals, writers, and graphic designers.

The development department of an art museum works on fundraising which, along with membership fees, keeps the museum afloat. Staff members take part in grant writing and procuring sponsorship of private and corporate donors.

Museum art handlers are employees that drive trucks and load/unload heavy boxes. These are desirable positions for people looking for flexible work.

This is one of the most important positions at any art museum because all artwork must be preserved. Conservators work in-house to repair damaged artwork and to prevent artwork from being damaged.

Depending on the size of the museum, the press department ranges in size from a one-person to a 20-person shop. Duties include writing and distributing press releases, organizing press conferences editing and writing catalogs for the museum's collection and ​exhibitions.

The Art Museum Director is the equivalent of a corporation's CEO. The person who holds this spot has a career that combines management, leadership and curatorial vision.

The Association of Art Museum Directors defines Art Museum Director as one who "provides conceptual leadership through specialized knowledge of the discipline of the museum; responsible for policy making and funding (with the governing board), planning, organizing, staffing and directing activities though the staff may be responsible for financial management."