Funeral Service As A Career

There are few professions that provide an individual with a greater sense of self-worth and service to mankind than funeral service. It is a career opportunity that enables you to become a care-giver to your community. The personal rewards that come from providing guidance and compassion to people in crisis are tremendous.Perhaps that is why so many young people are choosing funeral service for their life's work. Perhaps it is a profession for you.  

Table of Contents

1. The Changing Role of the Funeral Director
2. The Rewards of a Funeral Service Career
3. Funeral Service Education & Training
4. About Financial Aid
5.  Mortuary Colleges

---

The Changing Role of the Funeral Director

In recent years, there have been some remarkable changes in the way society thinks about death. And, the funeral director has changed during that time to meet new needs and to provide new services to the families who come to him. Today's funeral director is a highly-trained and highly motivated care-giver for his or her community. The funeral director provides counseling on all aspects of grief and loss, offers facilities for the conduct of a meaningful service to commemorate a life, assists in meeting legal and procedural matters that must be dealt with and works with other care-givers to guide the family through the crisis.  Above all, however, the funeral director offers compassion and understanding. The funeral director must help families better understand and accept death and the grief that follows. He or she works with the family to help them mold a traumatic situation into a helpful service that assists them through the grief process

Back to Top 

The Rewards of a Funeral Service Career

Salaries for funeral service employees are generally comparable with other positions requiring a similar level of education and experience. Since the vast majority of funeral homes are small businesses, there is also an opportunity to achieve ownership. Funeral service is not, however, a "get rich" profession. While it can be very rewarding financially, the emotional rewards are immeasurable.

Back to Top 

Funeral Service Education & Training

In Washington State, there are two separate funeral service professional functions - as a funeral director and as an embalmer. The educational and internship requirements for licensing are somewhat different, however most funeral service professionals in our state are licensed as both a funeral director and an embalmer. Funeral Director licensing requires two years of college and a one-year period of internship at a funeral home under the supervision of a licensed funeral director. The college course includes study in psychology, mathematics, chemistry, English, counseling, business administration, public speaking, biology and other classes. A minimum of 90 quarter hours or 60 semester hours is required. Additionally, the funeral director must pass an extensive examination to determine his or her knowledge of the many aspects of funeral service. Embalmer licensing requires the same two-year course of study at an accredited college, a two-year internship period under supervision of a licensed embalmer, a full year of instruction at a college of mortuary science, and satisfactory completion of an examination.  Some schools offer a two-year program funeral education program which will satisfy both of the above requirements.  To achieve either the funeral director or embalmer license, you must be over 18 years of age and of good moral character.

Back to Top 

About Financial Aid

Scholarships are available for young people who are pursuing a career in funeral service. The scholarships are awarded on the basis of need, academic qualifications and an expressed desire to enter the profession. Employees of WSFDA Member Firms are given first priorty. Scholarship awards are generally given in the amount of $500 each year. Those who are interested in making application for financial aid should contact the Washington State Funeral Directors Association at 253-588-7111 or emailing us at wsfda@wsfda.org.

Back to Top 

 Lake Washington Technical College, in Kirkland, WA is now offering classes in Mortuary Sciences. For more information about their program go to  http://www.lwtc.edu/.

The following colleges offer on-line programs for those that are interested:

Back to Top

Copyright © 2009 WSFDA.
All rights reserved.

• Arapahoe Community College
• John Tyler Community College
• Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science