Although ownership of funeral homes is being consolidated by corporate takeovers, there are plenty of jobs open across the country, said George Connick, executive director of the American Board of Funeral Service Education. Finding employees to fill those jobs can be difficult. The work is not for everyone. In addition to the emotional toll, starting salaries cans be low and the hours long and odd. In addition, there are training and educational requirements.
Many states require a two-year associate degree in mortuary science for a funeral service director.
Other states, like Ohio, require a bachelor's degree. There are also state certification examinations. Typically, students are taught traditional embalming and makeup skills, decorative arts, flower arranging, chemistry, grief psychology, counseling, finance and business skills. In some programs, students help prepare bodies of poor people, or bodies that have been donated for medical research. She has been told that the job placement rate for graduates is 98 percent.