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Boston Career Explorer

Educational Instruction and Library

Curators

Administer 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.

Also called: Collections Curator, Collections Manager, Curator, Education Curator, Exhibitions Curator, Exhibits Curator

Median pay in Greater Boston
$78,720
$37.85/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
220
Massachusetts 2024–2034
+7.5%
60 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
Master's degree

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$45,630$60,490$78,720$100,050$133,330

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • 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.
  • Develop and maintain an institution's registration, cataloging, and basic record-keeping systems, using computer databases.
  • Plan and conduct special research projects in area of interest or expertise.
  • Provide information from the institution's holdings to other curators and to the public.
  • Negotiate and authorize purchase, sale, exchange, or loan of collections.
  • Study, examine, and test acquisitions to authenticate their origin, composition, history, and to assess their current value.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Higher exposure71 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 64
  • Language-model AIOE 65
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 83

Observed AI use today: Substantial (Anthropic Economic Index)

Curators have higher AI exposure, and people in this field already use AI tools a fair amount. AI tools can help with cataloging, database record-keeping, background research, and answering routine questions about a collection. Choosing exhibit themes, working with objects, and negotiating loans or purchases depend on a curator's judgment and relationships.

Likely to change

  • Cataloging and database record-keeping
  • Background research and summarizing sources

Still relies on people

  • Negotiating loans, sales, and acquisitions
  • Shaping exhibit themes and installing displays

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

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Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

15 programs near Boston (plus 8 graduate)

Related occupations

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