Exhibition curator to collection manager
An exhibition curator already meets 36% of what the collection manager role asks for. The move turns on 14 required skills not yet in the profile.
66.4/ 100
1 How much of what a collection manager is expected to do is already part of an exhibition curator’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the collection manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A collection manager role treats 6 of its required skills as things an exhibition curator already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- art history
- cope with challenging demands
- interact with an audience
- museum databases
- provide project information on exhibitions
- use ICT resources to solve work related tasks
What stands in the way is 14 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 13 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A collection manager role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an exhibition curator background worth leading with.
- already held provide project information on exhibitions communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held cope with challenging demands communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held use ICT resources to solve work related tasks working with computers
- already held evaluate art quality information skills
- already held museum databases social sciences, journalism and information
- already held art-historical values arts and humanities
All 13 carried skills, including the 6 the collection manager role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 17 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn assess museum object condition required
- still to learn compile detailed collection inventory required
- still to learn monitor museum environment required
- still to learn document museum collection required
- still to learn implement risk management for works of art required
- still to learn advise on loans of art work for exhibitions required
- still to learn create collection conservation plan required
- optional, not held arrange interlibrary loans optional
- still to learn collection management software required
- still to learn digitization required
- optional, not held museology optional
- still to learn handle artworks required
- still to learn supervise artefact movement required
- still to learn respect cultural differences in the field of exhibition required
- optional, not held contribute to specialised publications optional
- still to learn conservation techniques required
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a collection manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 advise on loans of art work for exhibitions practise this
- 02 assess museum object condition practise this
- 03 collection management software study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 13 skills that carry over
- already held art history knowledge
- already held cope with challenging demands skill
- already held interact with an audience skill
- already held museum databases knowledge
- already held provide project information on exhibitions skill
- already held use ICT resources to solve work related tasks skill
- already held art-historical values knowledge
- already held coach employees skill
- already held coordinate operational activities skill
- already held evaluate art quality skill
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held present exhibition skill
- already held train employees skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- still to learn establish high standards of collections care required
3 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held contribute to specialised publications optional
- optional, not held museology optional
- optional, not held arrange interlibrary loans optional
25 held skills the collection manager role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advertise an art collection skill
- not needed by the target role advise on cultural exhibitions skill
- not needed by the target role anthropology knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply strategic thinking skill
- not needed by the target role archaeology knowledge
- not needed by the target role art collections knowledge
- not needed by the target role consult exhibition organisers skill
- not needed by the target role create new concepts skill
- not needed by the target role create solutions to problems skill
- not needed by the target role cultural projects knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure safety of exhibition skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate cultural venue visitor needs skill
- not needed by the target role have computer literacy skill
- not needed by the target role inheritance council practices knowledge
- not needed by the target role liaise with financiers skill
- not needed by the target role listen actively skill
- not needed by the target role meet deadlines skill
- not needed by the target role natural history knowledge
- not needed by the target role organise an exhibition skill
- not needed by the target role perform project management skill
- not needed by the target role plan resource allocation skill
- not needed by the target role present reports skill
- not needed by the target role support public access to exhibitions skill
- not needed by the target role work in an organised manner skill
- not needed by the target role work independently on exhibitions skill
4 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn collection management software required
- still to learn conservation techniques required
- still to learn digitization required
- optional, not held museology optional
Other moves recorded from exhibition curator
Common questions about this move
Can an exhibition curator become a collection manager?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An exhibition curator already covers 36% of what a collection manager is expected to do: 13 skills carry over, 6 of which the collection manager role treats as required.
What skills does an exhibition curator need to become a collection manager?
14 required skills are missing, plus 3 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is advise on loans of art work for exhibitions.
How hard is the move from exhibition curator to collection manager?
Its learning distance is 66.4 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.