Education Directors and Museum Teachers


Overview

Education Directors and Museum Teachers

Introduction

Museums, zoos, and botanical gardens are visited by people who come to learn and observe. Education directors, or curators of education, help these people enrich their visits. Education directors plan, develop, and administer educational programs at museums and other similar institutions. They plan tours, lectures, and classes for individuals, school groups, and special interest groups. 

Museum teachers, also known as museum educators, are hired by directors to provide information, share insight, an...

Quick Facts


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Median Salary

$50,000

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Employment Prospects

Good

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Minimum Education Level

Bachelors Degree


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Experience

Substantial administration and/or education experience required


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Skills

Leadership|Public Speaking|Teaching


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Personality Traits

Creative|Helpful|Outgoing

Earnings

According to Salary.com, median annual salary for museum education specialists were $50,842 in October 2019. Salaries ranged from less than $44,249 to $60,494 or more annually. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that self-enrichment teachers employed by museums, historical sites, and similar institutions earned mean annual wages of $40,160 in May 2018.

Education administrators w...

Work Environment

People who choose to be education directors and teachers enjoy spending time in museums, botanical gardens, or zoos. They also enjoy teaching, planning activities, organizing projects, and carrying a great deal of responsibility. Those in zoos should like animals and being outdoors. Those in museums may like the quiet of a natural history museum or the energy and life of a science museum aimed ...

Outlook

Employment for education directors and museum teachers is expected to be good during the next decade. There are approximately 850 million visits each year to American museums, according to the American Alliance of Museums, and museums remain a popular destination. 

Despite this prediction, competition for jobs will be strong—especially for education directors. Many educators with special...