Also called: Historic Paint Analyst, Decorative Finishes Conservator
Scrapes and studies tiny layers of old paint, plaster and wallpaper to find a historic building's original colors and restore them.
At a 1780s mansion you cut a tiny window through 20 layers of paint with a scalpel, then look at a chip under a microscope to see the first color: bright green, not the white everyone assumed. You write a report, match the color, and guide painters as they recreate it.
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 art conservation.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $60k – $150k.
Majors to look at: Historic Preservation, Art Conservation, Chemistry, Art History.
Growing about average. Small specialty tied to historic restoration projects.
Low risk for 10 years. Digital color matching helps; sampling paint layers by hand and judging history under the microscope stay human.
Classes: Chemistry, Art, AP 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.