Examples for How to Calculate Museum Job Salaries Accurately

This is the penultimate post in this miniseries about museum job compensation. We will run through a couple of real world examples so you can review how we apply each aspect of the data. 

As it is not an exact science, examples can be helpful to review and validate your process.

Example 1: Project Cataloger/Assistant Registrar (entry-level)

Location: Chicago, Illinois

This example takes place in Chicago, Illinois. The position is entry-level and intended for an Assistant Registrar. 

The professional profile is someone who’s completed masters-level education and has knowledge of museum collection best practices. There may even be a year or two’s worth of experience through previous internships.

With those data points in mind, we’ll want to look for equivalent positions in the geographic region or a commensurate geographic location. For this research we’re gathering an average from both the 2017 AAM Survey and the 2019 Salary Survey and then apply an inflation rate increase to bring it within today’s dollars. A cursory market review should also be performed for the position and area and calculating an average across the market. We’re also gathering a salary number from the federal pay scale for that position and location. The data points are as follows:

• 2017 AAM Survey: $48,085.50*
• 2019 Salary Survey: $53,240.40*
• GSA 1016-07 Step 1: $52,022
• Market Rate (Peers): $42,500-$55,000 (average: $48,750)
• GSA Price List: $51,469.20

In most scenarios, we want to see a salary distribution no larger than $10,000 for entry-level positions. In this case our lowest and highest points are from the market numbers: $42,500 and $55,000—the average of which is $48,750. This range is where you have flexibility to increase or decrease from the average of all data points ($50,713.42) based on your assessment of your knowledge and abilities. Tip: You should almost always be increasing within the range—too often this field perpetuates undervaluation. 

Proposed Salary: $50,713.42

Example: Museum Registrar/Collections Manager

Location: Seattle, Washington 

This example takes place in Seattle, Washington. The position is considered mid-career and requires a moderate level of responsibility. 

The professional profile is someone who’s completed masters-level (or further) education and has 5-10+ years of professional experience in the field. 

Similar to above, we’ll look for equivalent positions in the geographic region or a commensurate geographic location. We’ll gather an average from both the 2017 AAM Survey and the 2019 Salary Survey and then apply an inflation rate increase to bring it within today’s dollars. A market review will be performed for the position and area and calculate an average across the market. Finally, we’ll gather a salary number from the federal pay scale for that position and location. The data points are as follows:

• 2017 AAM Survey: $55,897.23*
• 2019 Salary Survey: $58,823.40*
• GSA 1016-09 Step 5: $71,994
• Market Rate (Peers): $48,000-$60,000 (average: $78,000)
• GSA Price List: $65,616.60

More senior positions tend to come with a larger salary range. In this case, our salary range according to the data is $48,000-$71,994. The average of all the data points are $66,066.25; however there should be significant consideration given to your professional profile, what you’ve achieved and your experience, as well as the responsibilities and size of the role.

Proposed Salary: $66,066.25

*In today’s dollars.

Conclusion

We have the resources, data, and information we need to build our case. We know how our position is defined, what the market rate states the value of the position is, and how we can put the data together to pinpoint with certainty what our value is. All that’s left now is advocacy. Next week we will review how to build a case for a more accurate museum salary.

***Previously, we covered museum salary resources, how to gather and crunch the numbers , and how to create a professional profile with an accurate salary.