Research manager to exhibition curator
A research manager already meets 24% of what the exhibition curator role asks for. The move turns on 23 required skills not yet in the profile.
79.5/ 100
1 How much of what an exhibition curator is expected to do is already part of a research manager’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 exhibition curator role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An exhibition curator role treats 8 of its required skills as things a research manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- cope with challenging demands
- interact with an audience
- manage budgets
- perform project management
- present exhibition
- provide project information on exhibitions
What stands in the way is 23 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 8 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An exhibition curator role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a research manager background worth leading with.
- already held work independently on exhibitions management skills
- 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 interact with an audience communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held present exhibition communication, collaboration and creativity
All 8 carried skills, including the 8 the exhibition curator role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 30 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 advertise an art collection required
- still to learn consult exhibition organisers required
- still to learn organise an exhibition required
- still to learn coach employees required
- still to learn create new concepts required
- still to learn create solutions to problems required
- still to learn listen actively required
- still to learn present reports required
- still to learn train employees required
- optional, not held advise on cultural exhibitions optional
- optional, not held support public access to exhibitions optional
- optional, not held liaise with financiers optional
- still to learn apply strategic thinking required
- still to learn coordinate operational activities required
- still to learn meet deadlines required
- still to learn plan resource allocation required
- still to learn work in an organised manner required
- optional, not held evaluate cultural venue visitor needs optional
- still to learn inheritance council practices required
- still to learn art collections required
- still to learn art history required
- still to learn art-historical values required
- optional, not held natural history optional
- optional, not held archaeology optional
- still to learn cultural projects required
- still to learn museum databases required
- optional, not held anthropology optional
- still to learn ensure safety of exhibition required
- still to learn evaluate art quality required
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an exhibition curator role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 inheritance council practices study this
- 02 advertise an art collection practise this
- 03 art collections 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 8 skills that carry over
- already held cope with challenging demands skill
- already held interact with an audience skill
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held perform project management skill
- already held present exhibition skill
- already held provide project information on exhibitions skill
- already held use ICT resources to solve work related tasks skill
- already held work independently on exhibitions skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- still to learn have computer literacy required
7 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held advise on cultural exhibitions optional
- optional, not held natural history optional
- optional, not held support public access to exhibitions optional
- optional, not held anthropology optional
- optional, not held archaeology optional
- optional, not held evaluate cultural venue visitor needs optional
- optional, not held liaise with financiers optional
26 held skills the exhibition curator role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role biology knowledge
- not needed by the target role chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role computational chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct qualitative research skill
- not needed by the target role conduct quantitative research skill
- not needed by the target role direct an artistic team skill
- not needed by the target role discuss research proposals skill
- not needed by the target role estimate duration of work skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate employees skill
- not needed by the target role image recognition knowledge
- not needed by the target role laboratory techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role liaise with cultural partners skill
- not needed by the target role manage research and development projects skill
- not needed by the target role manage staff skill
- not needed by the target role multidisciplinary research knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform scientific research skill
- not needed by the target role physics knowledge
- not needed by the target role project management knowledge
- not needed by the target role project management principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role report analysis results skill
- not needed by the target role research design knowledge
- not needed by the target role respect cultural differences in the field of exhibition skill
- not needed by the target role scientific research methodology knowledge
- not needed by the target role study a collection skill
- not needed by the target role study topics skill
- not needed by the target role urban sustainability knowledge
9 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 inheritance council practices required
- still to learn art collections required
- still to learn art history required
- still to learn art-historical values required
- still to learn cultural projects required
- still to learn museum databases required
- optional, not held natural history optional
- optional, not held anthropology optional
- optional, not held archaeology optional
Common questions about this move
Can a research manager become an exhibition curator?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A research manager already covers 24% of what an exhibition curator is expected to do: 8 skills carry over, 8 of which the exhibition curator role treats as required.
What skills does a research manager need to become an exhibition curator?
23 required skills are missing, plus 7 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is inheritance council practices.
How hard is the move from research manager to exhibition curator?
Its learning distance is 79.5 out of 100, which is the career change 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.