Your First Museum Job: Preparator

Did you know there's a hands-on museum career track that doesn't typically require a master's degree? I want to explain why the position Preparator is one of the coolest jobs you've probably never heard about.
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Book Recommendation:
The Care and Handling of Art Objects: Practices in The Metropolitan Museum of Art
www.metmuseum....
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[@petehalupka1]

I'm heading in for a preparator interview, and the book you recommended is going to be an amazing resource.

[@GlitterFistsFish]

After 12 years in home remodeling mostly as a trim carpenter. But mostly as a jack of all trades. I applied for a position at the Field museum in Chicago as a preparator as a mount builder.
Not sure if my skill set translates over but it seems like it should.

[@suzannfulbright5652]

So how do you get your first preparator job? the only ones I've seen advertised are for people who are already experienced.

[@shikhonbiswas8246]

Wow,,

[@isabelbarba4288]

Hi! do you know how much a preparator earn in a gallery? It is a full time job?

[@MuseumBreakroom]

Hey Isabel, good questions. Every msuem is a little bit different. Some hire this position full time, and some hire part time. According the the Association of Art Museum Directors annual salary report (2021) the median annual salary was between 34,000 and 43,000 for Associate Preparators in the United States. The museums that participated in this survey have annual operating budgets starting at 2.5 million per year. For part time positions at small institutions, the typical pay is around $15 per hour.