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Morticians, Undertakers, & Funeral Directors

Also called: Funeral Director, Funeral Director / Embalmer, Funeral Arranger, Mortician

Where in the military? In the military: see titles from the Army.

What they do:
Perform various tasks to arrange and direct 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.
On the job, you would:
  • 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.
  • Consult with families or friends of the deceased to arrange funeral details, such as obituary notice wording, casket selection, or plans for services.

Knowledge

Business
  • customer service
  • management
Arts and Humanities
  • English language
  • philisophy and religion
Math and Science
  • chemistry
  • psychology
Safety and Government
  • law and government

Skills

Basic Skills
  • talking to others
  • listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
Social
  • understanding people's reactions
  • looking for ways to help people
Problem Solving
  • noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

Abilities

Verbal
  • communicate by speaking
  • listen and understand what people say
Ideas and Logic
  • notice when problems happen
  • use rules to solve problems
Attention
  • pay attention to something without being distracted
Math
  • add, subtract, multiply, or divide

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include
leading, making decisions, and business.
They do well at jobs that need:
  • Dependability
  • Integrity
  • Attention to Detail
  • Concern for Others
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Cooperation

Technology

You might use software like this on the job:

Project management software
  • Belmar & Associates Mortware
  • Custom Computer Software Funeral Director 2000
Word processing software
  • Corel WordPerfect software
  • Microsoft Word
Data base user interface and query software
  • FPA Software MACCS
  • HMIS Advantage

Education

Education: (rated 3 of 5)
associate's degree or
master's degree
usually needed

Get started on your career:

Find Training Find Certifications Registered Apprenticeship Eligible for the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program

Job Outlook

Average Outlook
New job opportunities are likely in the future.
Salary
$52,790
per year, on average
Check out my state Local Salary Info Find Jobs

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See more details at O*NET OnLine about morticians, undertakers, and funeral directors.