Archivist Salary
An archivist is literally a person who archives things. This can include museum curators, those who work at historical sites, educational institutions and libraries. Competition to become an archivist is extremely high, mainly due to the high number of applicants and the low number of positions available. This has led the majority of those individuals seeking employment as an archivist going back to school to get multiple degrees, many focusing on the specialities of specific employers. Due to the wide variety of options available to an archivist, having certain training can help to get the job.
Generally, the job's functions involve the preservation of specific objects and documents either while on display to the public or private individuals or for storage. This can include everything from skeletons to pieces of art, all the way to important documents. It can also involve the safe storage, restoration, and transport of these items. The key is that whatever an archivist is archiving is important enough to keep.
Education is the key for this career. There are a number of base degrees you can get to become an archivist, with each offering a similar archivist salary. These degrees tend to be Master's Degrees, and include library science, archival science, information science, art history, and history. Depending on the type of work you are wanting to go into, additional degrees will greatly help your potential employment options. For example, if you would like to become an archivist at an art museum, getting additional degrees in fine arts, painting, chemistry, or art history can greatly help your chance at finding a job in this particular field.
Experience will also help. Getting experience while going for graduate degrees is usually ideal, since this will be experience that is directly targeted towards your ideal job. Many will have your working with a professional archivist or by working at a campus museum.
The archivist salary does not reflect the amount of education needed to be competitive in this field. Since beginning employment is normally part of the educational process, it is nearly impossible to calculate the amount most archivists make in the first few years of work. The median salary for an established archivist is around $37,000, with their pay dipping as low as $22,000 and going as high as $60,000.
Becoming an archivist is very difficult due to the high amount of competition in the field. There are sadly more qualified candidates than their are positions. If you want to become an archivist, you much start your education early and work hard to get the multiple degrees needed to set yourself apart from the rest of the pack.
The starting salary for archivists is below poverty line. It is completley not fair. But, if it is for only 6 mounths and for raising a family of one I guess it's ok.