Museum assistant
Help people enjoy visiting a museum. Keep valuable exhibits safe from accidents or damage.
Also known as: museum attendant
About the job
Salary
Source: National Careers Service
Weekly
£288
Entry level
£385
Experienced
Monthly
£1,250
Entry level
£1,667
Experienced
Yearly
£15,000
Entry level
£20,000
Experienced
6,100
people are currently employed
High growth
200 more jobs in 5 years
These figures refer to this job and similar ones with comparable skills and qualifications. They only apply to Scotland. Source: Oxford Economics
What it's like
You would help people enjoy and get the most out of visiting a museum. You’d be responsible for keeping valuable exhibits safe from accidents or deliberate damage.
You’d look after the visitors, answer their questions and help them find their way around the building.
You would:
Patrol the building to monitor security and make sure the exhibits are in good order
Talk to visitors and help them with their enquiries
Help curators and other senior staff to move and change displays and exhibitions
It’s a responsible job where you need to be aware of security issues. The items on display could be unique and very valuable. You’d need to be able to concentrate for long periods of time and react quickly in an emergency.
In some smaller museums with fewer staff, you might also:
Issue entrance tickets
Serve customers in the museum shop
Do administration
Clean the building
It would be important to be interested in museums, galleries and the heritage sector.
Hours
Environment
Explore more information about this job
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Top skills
Skills are things you're good at. Whether you know what yours are or not, everyone has them!
It's useful to learn which ones are important in a job so you know the areas you need to brush up on. It can also help you work out if you're suited to a career.
Here are some of the skills you'll need to do this job:
- time management
- filtering
- concentrating
- attention to detail
- respecting
- researching
- problem solving
- verbal communication
- listening
- positive attitude
Your skills are important
Our unique skillsets are what make us stand out from the crowd. Learn about each skill in depth and discover what employers look for in your applications and interviews.
Getting in
Explore the sections shown for more information about getting into this career.
You might have qualifications which are not shown here but will allow you access to a course. You can compare your qualifications by looking at their SCQF Level. For more information about this, check out the SCQF website.
Always contact the college, university or training provider to check exactly what you'll need.
Colleges and universities will list subjects you'll need for entry to a course. Some useful subjects include:
Classical Studies
English and Communication
History
Skills for Work: Hospitality
Social Subjects
Though there are no formal qualifications to enter this job most employers expect qualifications at SCQF level 4/5 or above.
Qualifications that demonstrate customer service skills and knowledge/experience of museums and galleries and their services.
Voluntary work experience in a museum or gallery.You can often get part-time or seasonal work.
Being quite fit, as you spend a lot of time standing and there might be some heavy lifting.
Depending on where you work you may need to be approved for membership of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme run by Disclosure Scotland.
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