What it pays
Government survey numbers — not estimates, not ads.
Half of all Archivists in the U.S. earn more than $64,550 a year — the middle 80% land between $39,970 and $110,550. About 7,970 people in the U.S. do this work. Figures are for the U.S. occupation group “Archivists”. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics survey, published 2025.) In India, Professionals earn about ₹38,298 a month on average — around ₹4.6 lakh a year (government PLFS survey via ILOSTAT, occupation-family figure).
$64,550typical pay / year
7,970people in this work
$110,550+top 10% earn
₹4.6 lakha year in India (family avg)
Think you get this job?Six quick questions on how it really works — with a hint and the reason behind every answer.
Test yourself →The work, task by task
These are the real jobs-to-be-done, not a wish list. Each task shows where we found it, and the prompt underneath is written for that exact task.
Keeping the record2
Organise records and archives
+Reorder the backlog of council correspondence from 1990–2005, apply the retention schedule, create a…
Organise records and archives
+Reorder the backlog of council correspondence from 1990–2005, apply the retention schedule, create a hierarchical file list with access restrictions, and export a transfer list for review by the records manager on Tuesday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft OfficeESCOjob descriptionsO*NETWikipedia
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Preserve records and archives
+Stabilise and digitise ten acid paper invoices and three brittle ledgers from the finance collection, record…
Preserve records and archives
+Stabilise and digitise ten acid paper invoices and three brittle ledgers from the finance collection, record conservation treatments applied, create high-resolution masters and access copies, and log preservation actions in the archive register by next Wednesday.
The tools that do the workAdobe AcrobatESCOjob descriptionsWikipedia
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Analysing3
Assess records and archives
+Appraise the business archive accession: sample boxes for evidential value, completeness, and research worth,…
Assess records and archives
+Appraise the business archive accession: sample boxes for evidential value, completeness, and research worth, produce a 300-word appraisal recommending retention or disposal and proposed public access conditions, and send to the appraisal panel by Friday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft OfficeESCOWikipedia
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Collect records and archives
+Collect the oral history recordings and related permission forms from the community project, verify consent…
Collect records and archives
+Collect the oral history recordings and related permission forms from the community project, verify consent covers digitisation and research use, bundle files with metadata, and prepare a transfer package for accessioning on Monday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelAdobe AcrobatESCOWikipedia
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Apply specialized knowledge to records
+Assess the set of accessioned land deeds, correspondence and fragile ledgers, identify records requiring…
Apply specialized knowledge to records
+Assess the set of accessioned land deeds, correspondence and fragile ledgers, identify records requiring restriction for personal data, create a retention and access recommendation for the collection, and prepare a short appraisal report for the head of archives by Thursday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Accessjob descriptionsO*NET
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Make1
Acquire and catalog materials
+Acquire the donor's estate of 12 photograph albums, compile a catalogue with titles, dates, and provenance…
Acquire and catalog materials
+Acquire the donor's estate of 12 photograph albums, compile a catalogue with titles, dates, and provenance statements, assign accession numbers, and produce a catalogue entry batch for the public catalogue by Friday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft OfficeMicrosoft Exceljob descriptionsO*NET
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The daily work12
Provide reference services
+Answer researchers' reference questions about the 20th-century labour collection, pull accession 1987-14…
Provide reference services
+Answer researchers' reference questions about the 20th-century labour collection, pull accession 1987-14 finding aids, check access restrictions and data protection rules, prepare photocopies or digital scans, and email full citations and access instructions to Dr. Patel by Wednesday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft Exceljob descriptions
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Participate in professional development and training
+Register for the regional archives training on digital preservation, summarise the session learning…
Participate in professional development and training
+Register for the regional archives training on digital preservation, summarise the session learning objectives and required follow-ups, book cover-time on Thursday so I can attend, and circulate a one-page action list to the team afterward.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft Wordjob descriptions
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Direct activities of workers who assist in arranging, cataloguing, exhibiting, and maintaining collections of valuable materials.
+Assign tasks to Lauren, Mateo, and the volunteer team for this quarter: prioritise cataloguing the 1920s…
Direct activities of workers who assist in arranging, cataloguing, exhibiting, and maintaining collections of valuable materials.
+Assign tasks to Lauren, Mateo, and the volunteer team for this quarter: prioritise cataloguing the 1920s photographic collection, set exhibit prep deadlines, list required conservation work, and schedule weekly check-ins so I can report progress at the staff meeting Friday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft OutlookO*NET
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Coordinate educational and public outreach programs, such as tours, workshops, lectures, and classes.
+Plan a public program series for autumn: draft descriptions and learning objectives for three tours, two…
Coordinate educational and public outreach programs, such as tours, workshops, lectures, and classes.
+Plan a public program series for autumn: draft descriptions and learning objectives for three tours, two hands-on workshops, and one lecture; propose target audiences, room capacity limits, promotional copy, and a draft budget to present to programming committee by August 15.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft PowerPointO*NET
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Select and edit documents for publication and display, applying knowledge of subject, literary expression, and presentation techniques.
+Choose items from the civil rights collection for a redesigned display: select thirty documents and three…
Select and edit documents for publication and display, applying knowledge of subject, literary expression, and presentation techniques.
+Choose items from the civil rights collection for a redesigned display: select thirty documents and three photographs, edit captions for clarity and provenance, note display conservation needs, and produce a short curator statement for the gallery label by September 1.
The tools that do the workAdobe InDesignO*NET
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Create metadata and finding aids
+Create metadata and a finding aid for the newly accessioned oral history series: draft collection-level…
Create metadata and finding aids
+Create metadata and a finding aid for the newly accessioned oral history series: draft collection-level description, list item-level metadata including dates, speakers, formats, access restrictions, and export a printable finding aid for researchers by July 20.
The tools that do the workExtensible markup language XMLjob descriptions
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Digitize collections
+Digitize the June 1944 correspondence box by scanning each letter at archival 600 dpi, apply lossless…
Digitize collections
+Digitize the June 1944 correspondence box by scanning each letter at archival 600 dpi, apply lossless compression, attach item-level metadata including title, date, creator and access restrictions, then move the master files to the preservation drive and log entries in the catalogue.
The tools that do the workAdobe Acrobatjob descriptions
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Assist researchers and the public
+Prepare a reader file packet for Dr. Nguyen's visit: compile requested diary excerpts and relevant catalogue…
Assist researchers and the public
+Prepare a reader file packet for Dr. Nguyen's visit: compile requested diary excerpts and relevant catalogue descriptions, redact personal identifiers under data-protection rules, create low-resolution access copies, and email the packet and viewing conditions to Dr. Nguyen before Thursday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft OutlookAdobe Acrobatjob descriptions
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Locate records in stacks
+Locate the service records for Estate A by searching the stacks index for reference code E-A-1937, pull box…
Locate records in stacks
+Locate the service records for Estate A by searching the stacks index for reference code E-A-1937, pull box E-A-1937-B, verify folder sequence against the catalogue, record the retrieval in the ledger, and return the empty trolley within the hour.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Accessjob descriptions
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Clean, repair, and conserve documents
+Stabilise the water-damaged deed bundle by surface-cleaning loose debris, humidifying and flattening each…
Clean, repair, and conserve documents
+Stabilise the water-damaged deed bundle by surface-cleaning loose debris, humidifying and flattening each sheet on blotters, mend tears with archival repair tissue, document treatments in the conservation report, and quarantine the items until fully dry.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Officejob descriptions
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Apply archival theory, methods, and appraisal
+Appraise the Accession 2020-14 collection by applying provenance and functions analysis, sample the series…
Apply archival theory, methods, and appraisal
+Appraise the Accession 2020-14 collection by applying provenance and functions analysis, sample the series for historical value, recommend long-term retention for five particularly significant series, and prepare a written appraisal justification for the acquisitions committee.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Exceljob descriptions
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Assist with legal concerns and ethics
+Advise on a donor's request to seal a family file: review legal obligations and donor agreement, check for…
Assist with legal concerns and ethics
+Advise on a donor's request to seal a family file: review legal obligations and donor agreement, check for third-party personal data and public-interest exceptions, draft a clear recommendation to counsel and the director, and propose a five-year review period if restriction is accepted.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Officejob descriptions
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Says who?
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Activities this job lives in
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The logs, files & records this job keeps
Shared with other careers — the same record means something different in each.
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Same family of work — each with its own tasks and prompts.
The LLOS Work Atlas is the world's largest evidenced task library — a map of human work, with a ready prompt behind every task. 1,774 careers · every task named by the sources that witnessed it — O*NET, ESCO, real job descriptions, Wikipedia — and the deepest tasks by several at once. And it is honest about limits: where AI cannot help, the map says so.
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Built on public evidence: O*NET®, ESCO, Wikipedia, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ILOSTAT. All sources & licenses
Built on public evidence: O*NET®, ESCO, Wikipedia, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ILOSTAT. All sources & licenses