Skills
Museum Technician Skills & Tools
The technical skills, people skills and tools employers look for in museum technicians, and how to build and show them.
What skills do museum technicians need?
Museum Technicians need technical skills such as object handling, packing and crating, and mount making, plus people skills like care and attention to detail. They also use tools such as Collections databases and Data loggers.
Technical (hard) skills
- Object handling
- Packing and crating
- Mount making
- Condition reporting
- Climate monitoring
- Collections databases
People (soft) skills
- Care
- Attention to detail
- Teamwork
- Patience
Tools, equipment and technology
- Collections databases
- Data loggers
- Hand tools
- Lifts
- Archival materials
- Cameras
Skills in action: common tasks
These step-by-step guides show how museum technicians put their skills to work:
- How to handle a museum object safely
- How to write a condition report
- How to pack an object for shipping
How to show these skills on a resume
- Lead your skills section with the technical skills from the job posting, for example, “Object handling” and “Packing and crating.”
- Prove soft skills with results: instead of listing “care,” describe a situation where you used it.
- List credentials such as Museum studies certificate near the top, with the issuing organization and date.
- Use the employer’s vocabulary. Our museum technician glossary covers the terms hiring managers expect.
How to build these skills
Formal training, supervised practice and certification are the most direct routes. Our Museum Technician training introduces each of these skills with plain-language lessons, procedures and a final knowledge check: a strong foundation before hands-on training or your first day.