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Embalmers
Prepare bodies for interment in conformity with legal requirements.
Other titles employers use
Embalmer · Licensed Embalmer · Trade Embalmer · Anatomical Embalmer · Arterial Embalmer · Embalmer Apprentice · Restorative Art Embalmer
Inside the work
What you would actually do.
6 responsibilities that define the role, before job titles and workplaces change the details.
- Conform to laws of health and sanitation and ensure that legal requirements concerning embalming are met.
- Apply cosmetics to impart lifelike appearance to the deceased.
- Join lips, using needles and thread or wire.
- Close incisions, using needles and sutures.
- Incise stomach and abdominal walls and probe internal organs, using trocar, to withdraw blood and waste matter from organs.
- Clean and disinfect areas in which bodies are prepared and embalmed.
Who it suits
Would this work hold your attention?
This career often appeals to people drawn to practical, organizing and helping work.
- Practical
- Building, repairing, using tools, or working outdoors
- Organizing
- Creating order, checking details, and keeping work accurate
Skills and strengths
What you would get good at.
Compare the skills the work relies on, the subjects behind it, and the abilities that make it easier to learn.
Core skills
- Speaking
- Active Listening
- Writing
- Critical Thinking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Service Orientation
Subjects to know
- Customer and Personal Service
- Chemistry
- Psychology
- English Language
- Law and Government
Useful strengths
- Near Vision
- Oral Comprehension
- Problem Sensitivity
- Oral Expression
- Arm-Hand Steadiness
Working day
Picture yourself doing it.
These measures show how much of the day involves people, movement, conversation, and hands-on work.
| Measure | Out of 5 | What that means here |
|---|---|---|
| Close to other people | 4.3 | Arm’s length or closer, most of the day |
| On your feet | 3.3 | Up and down through the day |
| Talking face to face | 5.0 | Continuous — the job is conversations |
| Working with your hands | 3.7 | Some of the day |
Preparation
How people prepare for this work.
Employers usually ask for an associate degree. Other routes may also lead into the field.
- A two-year degree 86%
- A four-year degree 14%
Tools of the work
Technology you may use.
- Office suite software
- Spreadsheet software
- Word processing software
- Data base user interface and query software
- Internet browser software
Opportunity near you
See where this work is growing.
Choose a state to compare the size of the field, annual openings, and expected hiring change.
- People doing this work
- 350
- Job openings each year
- 50
- Expected hiring change, 2022–2032
- —
Compare every available state
| State | People doing it | Job openings each year | Expected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | 350 | 50 | — |
| Texas | 320 | 50 | 6.7% |
| South Carolina | 210 | 30 | — |
| Florida | 170 | 30 | 6.3% |
| Kansas | 120 | 20 | −7.7% |
| Virginia | 120 | 20 | — |
| Alabama | 110 | 20 | — |
| Nevada | 100 | 10 | 11.1% |
| Illinois | 90 | 10 | — |
| Missouri | 80 | 10 | — |
| Colorado | 70 | 10 | — |
| Ohio | 70 | 10 | — |
| Indiana | 60 | 10 | — |
| Washington | 60 | 10 | — |
| Nebraska | 50 | 10 | — |
| Oregon | 50 | 10 | 25.0% |
| North Carolina | 40 | 10 | — |
| New Hampshire | 20 | 0 | — |
| New Jersey | 20 | 0 | — |
| Idaho | 10 | 0 | — |
Career to college
Build a path toward this work.
Start with a related major, then compare colleges where students complete that field.
Where to study
Colleges with strong activity in these fields.
Start with program size, admission, and likely cost. Open a college for the full picture.
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
- Degrees each year
- 35
- Admit rate
- 77%
- Annual cost after aid
- $10,000
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
- Degrees each year
- 23
- Admit rate
- 90%
- Annual cost after aid
- $10,000
University of Central Oklahoma
- Degrees each year
- 23
- Admit rate
- 82%
- Annual cost after aid
- $18,000
Wayne State University
- Degrees each year
- 22
- Admit rate
- 82%
- Annual cost after aid
- $12,000
Point Park University
- Degrees each year
- 8
- Admit rate
- 98%
- Annual cost after aid
- $22,000
Gannon University
- Degrees each year
- 2
- Admit rate
- 77%
- Annual cost after aid
- $20,000
Compare every college offering funeral service and mortuary science