Ah, the big question. What does an archivist make? Well,
compared to your roommate who went to Wall Street, not much.
Well in an informal survey many people in the business said you won't get rich in this profession. The SAA's web page discussing this issue says: "Salaries, benefits, and working conditions vary greatly, depending on the size and nature of the employing institution." Kind of vague, but true.
Looking at the "Professional Opportunities" page of the Archival Outlook from January/February 1998 to November/ December 1998 there is a wide range of salaries offered. They tended to float in the high $20,000 and the mid to low $30,000s. One of the lowest salaries was for a archivist position in Illinois for $24,500. The high range was above $40K for a Tucson archivist and California curator.When looking at the jobs offered in the January 1998 ARCHIVES LISTSERV [wp] , many of them were in the mid to high 20's with a few supervisory positions in the 30K range. When I looked in the Archival Outlook for May/June 1999, there weren't a whole lot of salaries advertised, two actually. The low one was for a processing archivist in South Carolina at 25K and the high end was for a $50K for the head of special collections and archives at a California university.
Since I was looking and applying for jobs in 1999-2000, the job pay outlook was pretty much the same. Several positions (if they do advertise salaries) are in the high 20s and mid 30s. Salaries are still related to location. Yet places that typically paid in the 30,000 range increased the amount of pay.
Salaries for federal or state government employees are a bit easier to predict. Within the United States federal government there are different levels of archival positions. One could begin as a Archives Technician (GS-1421) GS-5 with a $23,304 salary in the Washington, D.C.[wp] area or as an Archives Specialist (GS-1421) at the GS-7 level starting at $28,866 . If one already has significant archival experience or fulfil the government's requirement's one could be an Archivist (GS-1420) or Archives Specialist at the GS-9/11 level with $35,310/$42,724. There are Supervisory Archivists and more experienced Archivists with salaries beginning at $58,027. The salaries are set by the Office of Personnel Management and the same positions in different areas of the country may have different salaries, check OPM's site [wp] for the listing in your part of the US.
Salaries may vary because of conditions. An institution may only need some one part-time or may not have much funding, which may lower the salary. Another institution may require a dual masters or an MLS or specialized experience, which may (or may not) increase the salary. There are considerations one must take in, such as geography and can your spouse find a job in the same area.. Also money isn't everything. You must want to be an archivist because you like history or you like preserving history and helping people, not because you want to make big bucks. Yet you still need to make enough to pay off the student loans.
Last edited by M M Maxwell on 01/18/00