How to Become a Museum Technician
If you've ever visited a museum, you've probably encountered a friendly and helpful staff member who seems to know everything about the exhibit you're looking at. Chances are that person knows how to design and build the exhibits, can repair the artifacts inside the display cases, and may have restored the eighteenth-century dress over in the far corner. You may have just met a museum technician.This comprehensive knowledge base and skill set wasn't developed haphazardly in an afternoon of free time. Most likely that smiling museum technician spent a lot of time learning all about her field of expertise, perhaps having spent several years attending college and graduate school. In addition to the fields of expertise the public can access, the technician usually knows a great deal about keeping track of the museum's inventory of artifacts. Te technician's thirst for more knowledge skill is an ongoing pursuit.
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Instructions
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Excellent command of the English language is the foundation of museum studies because technicians absorb large amounts of information throughout their careers. As many museum technician training programs require at least an undergraduate degree, these are skills a candidate should already have.
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Development of good interpersonal skills is of paramount importance when working in a team environment and when working with the public. Being able to work effectively as part of a group is a normal part of almost any career field. Public speaking ability is necessary for leading tours, answering questions and directing museum visitors to areas of interest and sources of more information.
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Constantly building one's knowledge and skills is fundamental to becoming a museum technician with advancement potential. While artifact preservation is one area that comes immediately to mind, it is necessary for a museum technician to acquire skills as diverse as database management and records management, for example.
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Being accepted into a museum technician training program may be as simple as having a year or two of undergraduate study and a year or so of documented volunteer work. Depending on the museum, a graduate or undergraduate degree in history, art history, historic preservation or a related field may be required for acceptance into a technician training program.
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Upon completion of the museum technician training program, the candidate may become a member of the museum's staff or may prefer to apply for a position at another museum.
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Continuous acquisition of knowledge and skill leads to a deeper understanding of the museum technician's chosen area of specialization. This may include areas as diverse as carpentry, textile repair, cleaning and exhibit design as well as an in-depth knowledge of a particular historical period.
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