How to Become a Museum Technician
Becoming a museum technician can be a rewarding job that requires knowledge and skills in designing, building the exhibits and repairing artifacts that you see in the museum. Before deciding about becoming a museum technician you need to make sure that you are ready to invest time for schooling and that you have a good thirst for knowledge.
- Learn great communications skills and command of the English language. This is important and is the foundation of museum studies. As a museum technician you will be absorbing large amounts of information during your career. Go to college for art history, historical preservation or a related field so after you obtain your degree you can apply for a training program at a museum as a museum technician.
- Develop good interpersonal skills because as a museum technician you will be part of a team environment, and will be working with the public. You have to be able to work effectively, and have public speaking ability for you will be guiding museum tours, answering questions and directing visitors to their areas of interest.
- Acquire diverse skills such as artifact perservation, database management and records managment. Learning different types of skills can lead to advancements in your field.
- Apply for a museum technician training program. This can be as easy as having a year or two in undergraduate studies and a year of volunteer work. This depends on the museum if you have an undergraduate or graduate degree in art history, historic preservation or a related field then you can get accepted in a museum technician training program.
- Complete training at a museum and get a job afterwards either in the museum that you trained in or another museum.
- Continue learning about your area of expertise. This can include areas such as carpentry, textile repair, cleaning and exhibit design and in-depth knowledge of a particular historical period.