How to Become an Archivist: Career Guide, Courses, Job Profiles and Salary 2023

Steps to Become an Archivist

Some of the important steps to become an archivist are mentioned below.:

Make a Decision

You must make a choice before pursuing a career as an archivist; it will take a lot of hard work and persistence to get to the position you desire. As a result, before enrolling in the course, you must be eager and have the relevant abilities and attitude to be well organized. Make a decision and select topics and degrees that will help you achieve your objective.

Earn a Bachelor's Degree

If you're wondering how to become an archivist, the first and most crucial step is to educate yourself. An undergraduate degree is required for archivists. An archivist should ideally have a bachelor's degree in library science or archive science. Archivists, on the other hand, can possess bachelor's degrees in subjects such as history, art, or social science. Concentrations, specialties, and programs in archive studies can assist archivists in gaining a thorough grasp of the profession.

Choose The Desired College

Choose the desired college because each institution has distinct requirements for entrance scores and merit lists, students are required to get the appropriate scores in order to be admitted to the college of their choice with a good placement cell.

Types of Archivists

Some of the top job profiles of Archivists are given below;

Archivists

Archivists are responsible for evaluating, preserving, and organizing records and documents. They manage books, letters, old pictures, audio recordings, and other items, depending on their expertise, and store them over time using an organizing system that allows for efficient retrieval.

Librarian

Librarian is responsible to oversee the library to guarantee its organization and the safety of its resources. They create and arrange the library inventory and implement library rules and procedures into managing the library's budget.

Know More: How to Become a Librarian

Records Manager

Records managers are in charge of an organization's records, from production to preservation to disposal. Typical duties include record classification and indexing, deleting, or archiving completed data/records.

How to become an Archivist in India

In India, Archivists are in demand since public and private sectors have been emerging for years. To become an Archivist imperative step must be taken by an individual to reach the goal he/she aspired to be. Below mentioned are necessary steps that one can take;

Complete Education for Archivists

You can only become an archivist if you have a bachelor's degree. Your undergraduate degree can be in any field, although courses such as history, English, law, library science, or information management may be helpful. Postgraduate credentials can be studied full-time, part-time, or through remote learning, however, the latter must be done in conjunction with a cooperating archive service.

On-the-Job Experience

After completing the desired level of education, it is recommended that you obtain suitable job experience before applying for postgraduate courses. This might be paid or unpaid work, and it should be done in an archives department rather than a library.

How to become Archivists after the 12th?

Undergraduate level

Pursue a bachelor’s degree in library science or history or related stream from a reputed university. The duration of bachelor or UG courses ranges in the period of 3- 4 years.

Postgraduate level

• After completion of the undergraduate course for a period of 2 years, candidates are then eligible to pursue post-graduation courses.
• Candidates must have at least 50% - 55% in their bachelor's degree
• Some universities require entrance scores as well so candidates are expected to qualify for the respective entrance exams like DUET, JNUEE, IPU CET, etc.

Courses to become an Archivist

Candidates can pursue the following courses to become an archivist.

BA

BA (Bachelor in Arts) in specialization such as humanities, social sciences, or library science. It is a 3-year undergraduate-level program.

Admission Process

• Admissions to Undergraduate courses are done on the basis of both entrance exams as well as merit lists.
• Candidates must have completed their Class XII from a recognized board and should have also obtained a minimum of 45-50% marks in Arts. The required percentage may differ from one university to another.
• Candidates must have appeared for entrance exams to qualify to get admission in the required field of study such as NPAT, JNUEE, IPU CET, etc.
• Once the candidate becomes eligible to apply for the college, next comes the shortlisting of candidates and final admission round wherein the candidates are tested based on skills and written ability.

Eligibility Criteria

Candidates must have passed 10+2, with a minimum aggregate score of 45% -50% with Arts. Reserved candidates (SC/ST/OBC) must have a score of 40%-45% to qualify for the eligibility of the course requirements.

Candidates must appear for the required entrance exams as admissions are based on the entrance as well as merit.

MA

MA (Masters of Arts) in fields like library studies, humanities, social sciences, etc is preferred for archivists. It is a 2- year post-graduation course.

Admission process

• Admissions to MA are done on the basis of merit as well as entrance scores.
• The duration of programs offered is for 2 years and the criteria for students is to graduate in a related field with 50% -55% or CGPA according to the requirements of the University/ Institute.
• Candidates must have appeared for entrance exams such as IPU CET, JNUEE, DUET, etc to qualify to get admission in the required field of study.
• Once the candidate has applied for the required program of study they get short-listed by the university.
• After the process of shortlisting they are called for an interview and written test in order to check the ability and skills of the selected candidate.

Eligibility Criteria

• Candidates must have a 3- 4 year bachelor's degree in arts with a minimum of 50% aggregate or equivalent CGPA from a recognized board or university.
• They are expected to appear for the entrance exams such as IPU CET, JNUEE, DUET, etc to be eligible for admission to the respective universities.

How to Apply for the Exam?

Certain steps are to be taken into considerations to apply for the examinations

• Visit the official college website and know all about the admission procedure of the respective institute or college.
• Search for the registration form and fill in all the details required, for example, name, 10 + 2 marks, graduation cgpa / percentage, date of birth, etc.
• Attach all the required documents, mark sheets, age proof, and passport size photographs with the form.
• Pay the application form fee and print the receipt along with the application form for further reference.

How to Prepare for the Exam?

• While preparing for exams candidates must have a properly planned schedule in order to manage the syllabus and complete it on time.
• Research well about the course and have knowledge regarding the current syllabus.
• The entrance test comprises multiple-choice questions based on aptitude, conceptual understanding, and basic general knowledge.
• Keep solving multiple-choice questions for better understanding from mock papers and previous exam papers provided on the internet to enhance your knowledge and get familiar with the mode of exam.
• Refer to relevant entrance books to have in-depth knowledge about the course syllabus.
• The selected candidates are then called for an interview and it’s necessary to have conceptual knowledge about the course curriculum during the interview.

How to become an Archivist Abroad

Pursuing courses from abroad is one of the greatest achievements of all time. The top countries to pursue Archivist courses abroad are the USA, UK, and CANADA. To know more about the courses offered in detail let’s have a look at each of these countries one by one.

UK

• Required Academic Qualification: A 3-4 years bachelor’s degree in Arts (i.e. history, law, classics, or English).
• Minimum GPA: Degree with 2:1 qualification equivalent to 50-60% or B grade with a GPA 3.5 or above.
• English Proficiency Requirements: TOEFL score of 95+ and IELTS score of 6.5-7.0 to prove level of proficiency for non-English speakers.
• A GMAT score of 600+ is accepted by the UK universities and a work experience of a minimum of 1 year.

Top Colleges

The table below gives you the details of some of the best colleges to pursue in the UK

Canada

• Required Academic Qualification: Students must have completed four years of bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Arts from a recognized university.
• Minimum GPA: A GPA of 2.7-3.0/4.0 or B+ grade is required to get admission in this program with at least 60 credits.
• Students need to submit a minimum GMAT score of 550 or GRE exam scores with a minimum of 300+
• English Proficiency Requirements: Students must hold an English Language Proficiency for Non-native English speakers. They need to submit IELTS (6.0) or TOEFL (84-95) scores to prove their proficiency.

Work Experience: Students must have at least 1 year of full-time work experience after completion of an undergraduate degree.

Top colleges

The table below gives you the details of some of the best colleges to pursue in Canada

USA

• Required Academic Qualification: To be eligible for MA programs you must have at least 15 to 16 years of education at your bachelor’s degree in Arts from a recognized university.

• Minimum GPA: A minimum GPA of 3.0/4 or B+ grade is accepted by universities.
• English Proficiency Requirements: Students being Non- native English speakers must hold an English Language Proficiency to prove their level of proficiency. Minimum scores accepted for IELTS (6.5) and TOEFL (90-110)
• Along with the requirements provided by the universities, they require GRE or GMAT scores. Some universities provide admissions without experience as well. However, it depends on the university and the Master's program you choose.

Work experience: At least prior work experience of 1 - 2 years average

Top colleges

The table below gives you the details of some of the best colleges to pursue in the USA