Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers
Perform various tasks to arrange and direct individual funeral services, such as coordinating transportation of body to mortuary, interviewing family or other authorized person to arrange details, selecting pallbearers, aiding with the selection of officials for religious rites, and providing transportation for mourners.
- Median pay
- $55,010
- Doing it now
- 26,700
- By 2035
- Up 3%
- Usually needs
- Associate's degree
a year
across the country
3,000 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Consult with families or friends of the deceased to arrange funeral details, such as obituary notice wording, casket selection, or plans for services.
- Obtain information needed to complete legal documents, such as death certificates or burial permits.
- Oversee the preparation and care of the remains of people who have died.
- Contact cemeteries to schedule the opening and closing of graves.
- Provide information on funeral service options, products, or merchandise, and maintain a casket display area.
- Offer counsel and comfort to bereaved families or friends.
- Close caskets and lead funeral corteges to churches or burial sites.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Funeral Service and Mortuary ScienceSee 12 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Organised and precise
Leading and persuading
Helping and teaching
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $55,010 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.