Curator Career Guide,
Salary, Licence & Jobs 2026

A curator at a zoo, aquarium or botanical garden leads and manages a living collection. Duties include planning acquisitions, transfers and breeding through species-survival plans and studbooks, overseeing keepers, aquarists or horticulturists, ensuring animal welfare or plant health, and directing conservation and education programs. Curators manage budgets, staffing, records and accreditation standards, coordinate with partner institutions, and ensure compliance with permits and welfare regulations. They combine scientific expertise with management, balancing the needs of the collection, the institution's mission and public engagement. BLS counts the role exactly as Curators (SOC 25-4012), a code that also includes museum curators, so the occupation spans art, history and natural-science collections as well as living animal and plant collections at zoos and gardens.

The path is long and built on both education and experience. It starts with a bachelor's degree in zoology, biology, botany, horticulture or a related field, followed by years of hands-on work as a keeper, aquarist, horticulturist or assistant curator, building deep husbandry or plant knowledge and collection-management experience. A master's degree is typically required for curator positions, and some senior roles prefer a Ph.D. Along the way you develop skills in collection planning, breeding and conservation programs, budgets, accreditation standards and staff supervision. Advancement then runs from curator to senior or general curator and toward director-of-collections and animal- or plant-operations roles. Because positions are limited and competitive, a strong record managing collections and programs is essential to reach and grow in the role.

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Yes, and usually an advanced one. Curator positions typically require a master's degree in a relevant science such as zoology, biology or botany, built on a bachelor's foundation, and some senior roles prefer a Ph.D. The role is education-intensive because curators must combine scientific expertise with collection planning, conservation-program design and management. Just as important is experience: most curators spend years as keepers, aquarists, horticulturists or assistant curators before stepping into the role, so the credential alone is not enough. Unlike hands-on care roles where a degree is sometimes optional, the curator title is firmly a graduate-level, experienced position. The combination of an advanced degree and a strong collection-management record is what qualifies someone for these competitive leadership roles.

BLS reports Curators (SOC 25-4012) at an OEWS May 2025 median of $63,420 a year, or $30.49 an hour, ranging from $40,470 at the 10th percentile to $107,140 at the 90th. Entry-level and assistant curators start near the lower end, established curators sit around the median, and senior or general curators and directors of collections reach the upper end. Because the code also covers museum curators, pay varies widely by institution type, size and funding. Large, well-funded zoos, aquariums and botanical gardens in major metros tend to pay more than small institutions. The main levers are education level, the size and complexity of the collection managed, and advancement into general-curator and director roles. The moderate growth and limited openings keep competition strong for the better-paid positions.

A zookeeper provides the daily hands-on care of animals — feeding, cleaning, enrichment and welfare observation — and is counted by BLS among Animal Caretakers (SOC 39-2021), often entered with a bachelor's plus experience. A curator sits above the keeper staff as the manager of a whole collection, planning acquisitions, breeding and conservation programs, overseeing keepers and budgets, and ensuring accreditation and welfare standards, counted exactly as a Curator (SOC 25-4012) and typically requiring a master's degree plus years of experience. The keeper works directly with the animals day to day, while the curator makes collection-level decisions and leads people and programs. The natural progression is from keeper, aquarist or horticulturist into assistant curator and then curator, with education and management responsibility, and pay, rising at each step.

For experienced collection professionals who want to lead animal or plant collections and shape conservation programs, it can be a rewarding and prestigious career, with a median around $63,420 and a top decile of $107,140 for directors, plus meaningful influence over a zoo's or garden's mission. The honest trade-offs are significant: the role typically requires a master's degree and years of prior keeper, aquarist or horticulturist experience, so it is a long path; BLS projects moderate 7% growth through 2034 with only about 1,800 openings a year across a code that also includes museum curators; and competition for these senior positions is strong. Those who earn an advanced degree, build a strong collection-management record, and develop program and leadership skills position themselves best to reach and advance in the role.