Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers
What Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers 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.
See full salary breakdown & percentiles →
Career Outlook
National employment outlook, 2024–2034.
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- Long-term on-the-job training
- Self-employed
- 5%
Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.
How Much Preparation Does This Take?
Job Zone 3 of 5Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Experience
- Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations.
- Education
- Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
- Job training
- Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Source: O*NET Job Zones.
Key Knowledge Areas
Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.
- Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 4.7/5
- English Languageimportance 3.8/5
- Administrativeimportance 3.7/5
- Administration and Managementimportance 3.6/5
- Psychologyimportance 3.4/5
- Personnel and Human Resourcesimportance 3.2/5
- Computers and Electronicsimportance 3.2/5
- Sales and Marketingimportance 3.1/5
Work Environment
What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.
- Telephone Conversations4.8/5
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.8/5
- Contact With Others4.7/5
- Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results4.7/5
- Deal With External Customers or the Public in General4.6/5
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled4.6/5
Careers With Similar Skills
Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.
- Costume Attendants96% skill match
- Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except Gambling96% skill match
- Fire Inspectors and Investigators95% skill match
- Dietetic Technicians95% skill match
- Funeral Home Managers95% skill match
- Residential Advisors95% skill match
- General and Operations Managers95% skill match
- Administrative Services Managers95% skill match
Transferable Skills
Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.
- Social Perceptivenessimportance 4.1/5
- Service Orientationimportance 3.9/5
- Coordinationimportance 3.8/5
- Time Managementimportance 3.4/5
- Persuasionimportance 3.1/5
- Negotiationimportance 3.1/5
- Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.1/5
- Instructingimportance 3.0/5
Software & Technologies
Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.
Hot Technologies
Other Software Used
- Belmar & Associates Mortware
- Corel WordPerfect Office Suite
- Custom Data Systems Sterling Management Software
- FPA Software MACCS
- FuneralKiosk
- HMIS Advantage
- Twin Tier Technologies MIMS
- Web browser software
Work Style
Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.
- Attention to Detail
- Dependability
- Empathy
- Integrity
- Self-Control
- Sincerity
- Cooperation
Career Interests
This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.
- ConventionalMedium
- EnterprisingMedium
- SocialMedium
- RealisticMedium
- ArtisticLow
- InvestigativeLow
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 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.
Where This Career Is Most Concentrated
Metro areas where morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).
- 1Roanoke, VA3.13× national avg
- 2Youngstown-Warren, OH2.79× national avg
- 3Cedar Rapids, IA2.75× national avg
- 4Asheville, NC2.73× national avg
- 5Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA2.44× national avg
Possible Career Moves
A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.
- Funeral Home ManagersCareer Change
- First-Line Supervisors of Personal Service WorkersLateral Move
- Social and Community Service ManagersCareer Change
- Administrative Services ManagersCareer Change
See the full career path from Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers →
Related Education Programs
Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.
Funeral Service and Mortuary Science, General
- Commonwealth Institute of Funeral Service (Houston, TX)grads earn ~$54,162
- Dallas Institute of Funeral Service (Dallas, TX)grads earn ~$52,516
- American Academy McAllister Institute of Funeral Service (New York, NY)grads earn ~$60,648
- Worsham College of Mortuary Science (Wheeling, IL)grads earn ~$62,143
- Piedmont Technical College (Greenwood, SC)