Funeral Director Career – The Unglamorous Job That Pays

Taking up a profession as a funeral director doesn’t sound as fancy as a doctor or engineer. Yes, that is true to a certain extent as the job of a funeral director can be rough, detailed and disgusting. But someone from the community needs to play this role to run the entire funeral process while the family of the deceased mourns. So, who will it be?

It is important to understand that funeral directors earn $43,380 on average and the job isn’t the most glamorous around town. Salaries vary depending on the experience you’ve had and the location that you run your business. Generally, the more experience you have, the higher salary you’ll get. Similarly, the bigger the city, the higher your salary will be. This however does not always stay the way it is. Bigger cities tend to have a higher level of competition. Thus, experience is important to ensure a successful career. Other factors such as services offered, number of facilities operated, and level of formal education do play a minor role in determining the amount of salary you earn. These days, most funeral directors offer a package which makes it so much easier for everyone.

The title “funeral director” is very self-explanatory; he or she directs a funeral process. Funeral directors arrange funeral services and burials. They work in funeral homes, where bodies are kept until cremation or burial. When a funeral director is notified about a death, he or she will be needed to take care of care taking, transferring and processing the body before burial. And yes, the job comes with a great degree of stress and pressure. Decent amount of bravery is also required as funeral directors work with the dead which can be eerie to some.

There is no set rule to what you, a prospective funeral director should do. But there are “cheats” to help aid and equip you before stepping into the real world. As the nature of the job deals with a lot with biology and chemistry, taking up such classes in high school can help give you a heads up.

Always think of the job as a business. People pay you to handle their dead loved ones. Communication is a must in order to succeed in this job. Both verbal communication and network communication are important simply because the better you negotiate the more business you get. After all, it’s not what you know but who you know that matters most.

Most states in the U.S. require you to pursue a program in mortuary sciences which can take up to four years of education. This behaves as a certification. Then, you will need to complete one to three years of apprenticeship which will happen during or after you’ve completed your degree. Check with your state as different states have different requirements to when apprenticeship should be done.

Lastly, pursue a formal licensure. Depending on your state, you may need to pass a single board examination–or several–for licenses covering specific aspects of the profession.

When it comes to starting a career as a funeral director, there are many alternatives that you can look at; working with an established funeral home, working for someone you know in the business or starting your very own funeral home.