Funeral Attendants
The occupation Funeral Attendants covers people who perform a variety of tasks during funeral, such as placing casket in parlor or chapel prior to service, arranging floral offerings or lights around casket, directing or escorting mourners, closing casket, and issuing and storing funeral equipment. The job can ask you to greet people at the funeral home. The strongest interest signal is Realistic (5.0 of 7), then Conventional (4.3) and Social, which gives it the code RCS. Plan on a few months to a year of learning on the job; O*NET labels this some preparation. Strength in social perceptiveness, service orientation, and active listening helps most here. If you want hands-on work with tools, machines or the physical world, keep it on your list. If you need research, analysis and working through hard problems, it may feel thin.
What they do
Perform a variety of tasks during funeral, such as placing casket in parlor or chapel prior to service, arranging floral offerings or lights around casket, directing or escorting mourners, closing casket, and issuing and storing funeral equipment.
Main tasks
- Greet people at the funeral home.
- Perform a variety of tasks during funerals to assist funeral directors and to ensure that services run smoothly and as planned.
- Close caskets at appropriate point in services.
- Direct or escort mourners to parlors or chapels in which wakes or funerals are being held.
- Place caskets in parlors or chapels prior to wakes or funerals.
- Offer assistance to mourners as they enter or exit limousines.
Skills
- Social Perceptiveness
- Service Orientation
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Coordination
Who this career fits
May suit you if
- You like ending the day with a physical result you can point to.
- You like clear rules and getting the details right.
- You want to start work after a short stretch of training.
- You are comfortable relying on social perceptiveness and service orientation.
May not suit you if
- You would rather stay away from physical, hands-on tasks.
- You want to spend most of your time analyzing and researching. Investigative rates 1.1 out of 7 here.
- You want a career built on years of advanced study.
Interest profile
O*NET rates each occupation from 1 to 7 on six interest types. The code RCS takes the three highest, and Realistic comes first here.
Preparation
Some preparation. Most people start with a high school diploma, then learn from experienced coworkers over a few months to a year.
Most-reported requirement in the O*NET survey: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED). This reflects what workers reported most often and is not a legal minimum. Licensing rules can differ by state or industry, so confirm what applies where you plan to work.
Also called
- Funeral Assistant
- Funeral Associate
- Funeral Attendant
- Funeral Director
- Funeral Greeter
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This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 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.