What do they do?
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.
Also known as:
Funeral Arrangement Director, Funeral Arranger, Funeral Counselor, Funeral Director, Funeral Location Manager, Funeral Pre-Need Consultant, Funeral Prearrangement Counselor, Licensed Funeral Director, Licensed Mortician, Mortician
Employment of Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Directors is projected to grow 9 percent from 2018 to 2028, about as fast as average compared to all occupations.
Projected Employment Rankings For Virginia:
-
9%
Percent Change
Ranks #8 in job growth rate -
110
Annual Projected Job Openings
Ranks #10 in net job growth
Select Type of Degree:
Majors that prepare Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers:
- Funeral Direction/Service (203)
- Funeral Service and Mortuary Science, General (1,633)
- Funeral Service and Mortuary Science, Other (46)
★ Number of granted degrees for degree type, All, is listed after the major.
Colleges with the most graduates that become Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers:
- Commonwealth Institute of Funeral Service
- Fayetteville Technical Community College
- Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science
- Jefferson State Community College
- American Academy McAllister Institute of Funeral Service
- Dallas Institute of Funeral Service
Best colleges for Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers:
- University of Central Oklahoma
- Wayne State University
- University of Minnesota Twin Cities
- Point Park University
- Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
- Gannon University
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People in this career often have these skills:
- Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
People in this career often know a lot about:
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
People in this career often have talent in:
- Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
- Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
- Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
People in this career often do these activities:
- Gather information in order to provide services to clients.
- Discuss service options or needs with clients.
- Embalm corpses.
- Direct funeral or mortuary activities.
- Arrange facility schedules.
- Provide counsel, comfort, or encouragement to individuals or families.
This page includes data from:
Career data: O*NET 25.1 Database
by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (“USDOL/ETA”). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA
Occupation statistics: USDOL U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics
Videos: CareerOneStop, USDOL/ETA and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development
