What Does an Exhibit Specialist Do?
A museum exhibition takes more work than most visitors realize and involves more than just hanging objects on walls. The cases, mounts and lights they walk past may look simple, but more importantly they keep fragile objects safe and lead people through a story. Exhibit specialists design, build and install all of it.
Also known as: Senior Exhibit Specialist
Exhibit Specialist Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of an exhibit specialist include:
- Design exhibit layouts, cases and platforms from curators' object lists and floor plans.
- Build walls, casework, pedestals and mounts in the shop from wood, metal, acrylic and fabric.
- Produce scale drawings and 3D models in SketchUp or AutoCAD for review and fabrication.
- Fabricate custom mounts that hold objects securely without stressing or marking them.
- Print, mount and install graphic panels, labels and vinyl lettering.
- Plan and focus gallery lighting, keeping light levels safe for fragile materials.
- Assemble and take down exhibitions on schedule, moving walls, cases and platforms into place.
- Maintain interactive displays and touchscreens; repair worn parts and failed electronics.
- Estimate materials and costs for each project and order supplies within budget.
- Operate table saws, routers and CNC equipment safely, and keep the workshop in order.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as an exhibit specialist, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- Woodworking and metalworking
- SketchUp, AutoCAD or Vectorworks
- Adobe Illustrator for exhibit graphics
- Mount making and safe object handling
- Gallery lighting and light limits for fragile objects
- Basic electrical and electronics repair
- Material estimating and budgeting
- Problem solving against opening deadlines
Education and Training
Entry is open to graduates of several fields, as museums are interested in candidates from a range of industrial design, fine arts and theater backgrounds. Getting in without a bachelor's degree might be possible for skilled carpenters, but graduates with a portfolio of built exhibits will have a head start over other applicants. With experience, you could progress to senior exhibit specialist or exhibits manager.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: $52,830 - $104,030 per year, with a median of $75,240.
The range covers the middle half of earners nationwide. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Set and Exhibit Designers.
BLS projects employment of set and exhibit designers, the group that covers this job, to grow about 1 percent from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,200 openings a year. That is slow growth, so most openings come from people retiring or changing jobs. It is the all-rounders, people who can design, build, wire and light a show, who tend to be hired first.
Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Set and exhibit designers.