Also called: Game Preservationist, Game Collections Curator
Saves and catalogs old video games, consoles, design documents, and code at museums and libraries so they aren't lost forever.
A video game archivist copies data off fragile floppy disks from a 1980s game studio, catalogs a donated box of design notes, and repairs an old console for an exhibit. They also research how to keep old online games playable within the law.
Approximate; museum and library pay.
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 library and information science.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $60k – $150k.
Majors to look at: Library and Information Science, History, Computer Science.
Growing about average. Small but growing as game history gets more attention.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. AI helps catalog, but rescuing old hardware and media needs hands-on experts.
Classes: Computer science, History, Electronics CTE.
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.