Also called: Historic Finishes Analyst, Historic Paint Researcher
Scrapes tiny paint samples from old buildings and studies the layers under a microscope to find their original colors.
You take a pin-sized chip from a 1790s doorway and mount it in resin. Under the microscope you count 22 layers of paint back to the first coat, then match that color so the restoration crew can paint it right.
Estimated; very small field, often consultants.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Master's degree, about 6 years after high school. Master's in historic preservation or conservation, often after a bachelor's in art or chemistry.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Historic Preservation, Art Conservation, Chemistry, Art History.
Growing slowly. Tiny niche tied to restoration budgets.
Low risk for 10 years. Imaging tools help, but reading old paint layers takes trained human eyes.
Classes: Chemistry, Art, U.S. History.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-4099.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.