Also called: Wooden Artifacts Conservator
Preserves and repairs historic furniture and wooden objects.
They match old finishes, repair joints with period-appropriate techniques, and stabilize gilded surfaces. Museums, historic houses, and private clients hire them.
Estimate based on American Institute for Conservation salary surveys; BLS groups conservators with museum technicians (25-4013, May 2024 median about $50k).
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 conservation or long apprenticeship.
Ways in: Graduate school, Apprenticeship. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Art Conservation, Woodworking, Decorative Arts.
Growing faster than average (about 6% over 10 years). Small field.
Low risk for 10 years. Repairing veneer, joints and historic finishes on wooden objects is skilled handwork.
Classes: Woodshop CTE, Chemistry, US history.
Official data: O*NET occupation 25-4013.
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.