Jobs for Morticians

Funeral Director

Morticians are often known as funeral directors. This title implies that a mortician's main duty is dealing with the family of the deceased while family members plan the funeral. Orchestrating funerals is only part of a mortician's job. Morticians embalm bodies, dress them and apply makeup, and handle the cremation process if that is preferred.

Teaching

Morticians need education to get started in their careers and to maintain their state certifications. This opens teaching as a viable career option for a mortician. Options for those interested in teaching mortuary science include working at technical schools, colleges and universities, and specialty trade schools.

Sales

A traditional sales technique is to understand your customer's needs. One way to do this is to have the same education and training as the customer. Morticians are often responsible for making purchasing decisions on caskets, cremation urns and embalming supplies. Former morticians make excellent funeral supply salespeople, since they understand the challenges practicing morticians face every day and how the funeral budgeting process works.

Coroner

If being on call nights and weekends as a mortician isn't enough of a challenge, you can run for your local coroner position in towns that have an elected position. Technically a law enforcement job, a coroner helps establish the identity of someone in the county who dies as well as the cause and manner of death. Most states require newly elected coroners to take a certification course and some basic education is expected. Morticians' knowledge of the human body, dealing with grieving family members and a lack of squeamishness make morticians common candidates for coroner positions. A coroner doesn't usually perform autopsies, as these are completed by forensic pathologists or medical examiners who typically are doctors.