Archivists vs Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary: $65K vs $79K Median Pay

Archivists vs Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary: what changes?

Consider Archivists if you want to appraise, edit, and direct safekeeping of permanent records and historically valuable documents. Consider Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary if you would rather teach courses in drama, music, and the arts including fine and applied art, such as painting and sculpture, or design and crafts. Both list master's degree; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Archivists and Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Archivists

National median pay (2025): $64,550
Route into the job: Master's degree
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.
Work to investigate: Organize archival records and develop classification systems to facilitate access to archival materials.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 1,100

Know before you choose

This is a small national occupation (10,300 jobs in 2025), so location and employer concentration can matter more than the national median suggests.

See the full Archivists brief

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary

National median pay (2025): $78,620
Route into the job: Master's degree
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.
Work to investigate: Explain and demonstrate artistic techniques.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 8,000

Know before you choose

Review the full career brief for day-to-day working conditions.

See the full Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary brief

How the national numbers differ

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary has the edge on annual openings

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary is at 8,000 annual openings, compared with 1,100 annual openings for Archivists.

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary has the edge on median pay

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary is at $78,620, compared with $64,550 for Archivists.

Archivists has the edge on projected growth

Archivists is at 3.4% projected growth, compared with 2.2% projected growth for Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary.

38.3/ 100

Archivists

51.5/ 100

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence