How to become an Archivist
Also called: Archives researcher, Archives specialist, Digital archivist, Fine arts archivist, Historical archivist, Multimedia archivist, Processing archivist, Archives researcher, Historical archivist, Multimedia archivist
Archivist collects, organises, preserves and provides access to contents of archives, artefacts and records of historical, cultural, administrative and artistic interest, and of art and other objects. He/she maintains records in a variety of formats, analogue or digital, and includes several kinds of media (documents, photographs, video and sound recordings, etc.).
Main tasks
- Evaluating and preserving records for administrative, historical, legal, evidential and other purposes
- Directing or carrying out the preparation of indexes, bibliographies, microfilm copies and other reference aids to the collected material and making them available to users
- Researching the origin, distribution and use of materials and objects of cultural and historical interest
- Organising, developing and maintaining collections of artistic, cultural, scientific or historically significant items
- Directing or undertaking classification and cataloguing of museum and art gallery collections and organising exhibitions
- Researching into, appraising, and developing, organising and preserving historically significant and valuable documents such as government papers, private papers, photographs, maps, manuscripts and audio-visual materials
- Preparing scholarly papers and reports
- Planning and implementing the computerised management of archives and electronic records
Ways in
- University: Arts & Humanities degrees, Offered by 3 universities in Singapore
Pay · Outlook · AI and this job
- Generative AI could change some tasks in this job, by the ILO's global estimate.
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Questions people ask
How do I become an Archivist?
Ways in include: Arts & Humanities degrees.
Will AI change the work of an Archivist?
Generative AI could change some tasks in this job, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Updated 4 October 2026