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 record5
Organise records and archives
+Organise the municipal planning records so each file has a persistent identifier, single-entry metadata,…
Organise records and archives
+Organise the municipal planning records so each file has a persistent identifier, single-entry metadata, access restrictions noted, a physical location or digital path, and a retention schedule ready for the team meeting on Thursday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft AccessMicrosoft ExcelESCOjob descriptionsO*NETWikipedia
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Preserve records and archives
+Preserve the fragile council minutes by creating lossless master copies, checksum each file, record bit-level…
Preserve records and archives
+Preserve the fragile council minutes by creating lossless master copies, checksum each file, record bit-level preservation status, and schedule three-year integrity audits before handing over the drives to cold storage next Tuesday.
The tools that do the workAdobe AcrobatESCOjob descriptionsWikipedia
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Assess records and archives
+Assess the backlog of correspondence and grade each bundle as permanent, temporary, or disposal with…
Assess records and archives
+Assess the backlog of correspondence and grade each bundle as permanent, temporary, or disposal with justification, note personal data risks, and produce a two-page appraisal report for the head archivist by Friday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelESCOWikipedia
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Collect records and archives
+Collect the donated photograph albums, verify donor agreements, capture photographer and date metadata,…
Collect records and archives
+Collect the donated photograph albums, verify donor agreements, capture photographer and date metadata, assign accession numbers, and upload vetted image masters to the secure repository by close of business Monday.
The tools that do the workAdobe PhotoshopESCOWikipedia
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Acquire and catalog materials
+Acquire the estate archive, draft the accession record with provenance and scope notes, catalogue items to…
Acquire and catalog materials
+Acquire the estate archive, draft the accession record with provenance and scope notes, catalogue items to file-level where necessary, and circulate the catalogue to legal and development for sign-off within ten days.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Accessjob descriptionsO*NET
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Analysing1
Apply specialized knowledge to records
+Apply conservation metadata and established appraisal language to the wartime letters, verify authenticity…
Apply specialized knowledge to records
+Apply conservation metadata and established appraisal language to the wartime letters, verify authenticity where possible, redact personal data as required, and attach a 300-word research note for future users.
The tools that do the workAdobe Acrobatjob descriptionsO*NET
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The daily work12
Direct activities of workers who assist in arranging, cataloguing, exhibiting, and maintaining collections of valuable materials.
+Assign duties and weekly schedules for Emma, Luis, and Harpreet to catalogue the newly acquired…
Direct activities of workers who assist in arranging, cataloguing, exhibiting, and maintaining collections of valuable materials.
+Assign duties and weekly schedules for Emma, Luis, and Harpreet to catalogue the newly acquired photographers' archive, set preservation checks, and confirm exhibition prep responsibilities with the head conservator by Wednesday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelO*NET
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Coordinate educational and public outreach programs, such as tours, workshops, lectures, and classes.
+Draft the summer outreach calendar linking guided tours, a students' workshop, and a lecture series, assign…
Coordinate educational and public outreach programs, such as tours, workshops, lectures, and classes.
+Draft the summer outreach calendar linking guided tours, a students' workshop, and a lecture series, assign contact leads, set audience limits, and request the education budget estimate from finance by next Monday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft OutlookO*NET
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Select and edit documents for publication and display, applying knowledge of subject, literary expression, and presentation techniques.
+Select fifty representative letters from the 19th-century correspondence for the autumn display, edit…
Select and edit documents for publication and display, applying knowledge of subject, literary expression, and presentation techniques.
+Select fifty representative letters from the 19th-century correspondence for the autumn display, edit transcriptions for clarity and annotations for context, and deliver a print-ready exhibit text with image captions to design by Friday.
The tools that do the workAdobe AcrobatO*NET
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Create metadata and finding aids
+Create detailed metadata records and a finding aid for the newly accessioned oral history series, including…
Create metadata and finding aids
+Create detailed metadata records and a finding aid for the newly accessioned oral history series, including names, dates, subjects, access restrictions, and a searchable box and item list, then upload to the catalogue and alert reference staff.
The tools that do the workExtensible markup language XMLjob descriptions
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Provide reference services
+Answer Dr. Singh's enquiry about the 1914 naval logs: verify the item-level descriptions, confirm access…
Provide reference services
+Answer Dr. Singh's enquiry about the 1914 naval logs: verify the item-level descriptions, confirm access restrictions, attach high-resolution reproductions, note any sensitive personal data and recommended redactions, and send the reply by Wednesday morning.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Outlookjob descriptions
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Participate in professional development and training
+Schedule and enrol me on the regional archives workshop for digital preservation, block my calendar for the…
Participate in professional development and training
+Schedule and enrol me on the regional archives workshop for digital preservation, block my calendar for the two-day session next month, download the syllabus, and add a short note of learning objectives for the annual appraisal report.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Outlookjob descriptions
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Digitize collections
+Digitize the accessioned estate inventory folder 2019–2021 into high-resolution archival images, apply…
Digitize collections
+Digitize the accessioned estate inventory folder 2019–2021 into high-resolution archival images, apply TIFF-format naming that matches the catalogue numbers, run basic OCR, and deliver a checksummed master set plus a browse JPEG folder by Friday for ingestion.
The tools that do the workAdobe Photoshopjob descriptions
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Assist researchers and the public
+Run a noon reading-room roster, prepare access copies of requested fonds MS42 and correspondence box 7 with…
Assist researchers and the public
+Run a noon reading-room roster, prepare access copies of requested fonds MS42 and correspondence box 7 with redaction of personal data where restricted, draft brief guidance for the researcher on provenance and cite restrictions, then email availability and viewing times.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft Exceljob descriptions
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Locate records in stacks
+Locate the original files for accession 88-A in the closed stacks, pull containers 88-A1 through 88-A5,…
Locate records in stacks
+Locate the original files for accession 88-A in the closed stacks, pull containers 88-A1 through 88-A5, verify box list against the catalogue entry, mark current location on the shelf list, and return a scanned box list to the registry.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Accessjob descriptions
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Clean, repair, and conserve documents
+Stabilise the damp letter bundle from accession 2007 by surface-cleaning, humidifying and flattening, mend…
Clean, repair, and conserve documents
+Stabilise the damp letter bundle from accession 2007 by surface-cleaning, humidifying and flattening, mend three tears with Japanese tissue, record treatments in the conservation log and photograph before and after for the conservation file.
The tools that do the workjob descriptions
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Apply archival theory, methods, and appraisal
+Apply appraisal criteria to the incoming municipal records transfer, recommend retention periods for council…
Apply archival theory, methods, and appraisal
+Apply appraisal criteria to the incoming municipal records transfer, recommend retention periods for council minutes, permit files and draft reports, create a disposal schedule with justification notes, and submit the appraisal report to the records manager by Wednesday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Exceljob descriptions
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Assist with legal concerns and ethics
+Draft a briefing for the solicitor on the contested donor restriction: summarise provenance, identify…
Assist with legal concerns and ethics
+Draft a briefing for the solicitor on the contested donor restriction: summarise provenance, identify personal data and copyright risks, recommend redaction or closed access and propose a public-use statement for the catalogue record.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Officejob descriptions
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Says who?
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Activities this job lives in
The human activities behind the tasks — each with its honest AI ceiling.
The logs, files & records this job keeps
Shared with other careers — the same record means something different in each.
Related careers
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