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| Cherita Sawyer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11-19-07 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Morticians | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it"s worth watching. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Anonymous Quotation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| According to the US Department of Labor's Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH), "Funeral practices and rites vary greatly among cultures and religions." Morticians, OOH goes on to explain, take the deceased to the mortuary, prepare the bodies, honor the deceased, address the spiritual needs of the family, and carry out the final disposition of the remains. People who work as a funeral directors take great pride in their ability to provide efficient and appropriate services. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Funeral directors, OOH tells us, arrange the details and handle the logistics of funerals. Funeral directors have many different jobs that have to be done to prepare for the funerals, like prepare the obituary notices, place them in the newspapers, arrange for pallbearers and clergy, schedule the opening and closing of a grave with a representative of the cemetery, decorate and prepare the sites of all services, and provide transportation for the deceased's mourners. They also direct preparation and shipment of remains for out-of-state burials. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Funeral directors are trained, licensed, and practicing embalmers. Before the body is embalmed, it is washed with germicidal soap, and they replace the blood with embalming fluid to preserve the tissues. Funeral directors maintain records such as embalming reports and itemized lists of clothing or valuables delivered with the body. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Funeral directors have to be familiar with all the religious and burial customs of many faiths, ethnic groups, and fraternal organizations. They have to submit the paperwork involving the death to the state authorities so that a formal death certificate may be issued and copies may be given to the heirs. They also help people to plan their funerals in advance. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| According to Delta College's Morticians School, "Morticians often work long and irregular hours, including evenings and weekends." Funeral directors sometimes come in contact with people who have died from contagious diseases, but if they follow the strict health regulations, they are not likely to catch them. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Funeral directors are licensed in all states except Colorado, Delta College tells us. After they are licensed, new funeral directors may join the staff of a funeral home. Funeral directors who embalm must be licensed in all states, and, according to OOH, some states only license those who embalm. Those interested in mortician's licenses should contact their state licensing boards for the specific classes that need to be taken. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| One can prepare for a mortician's career in high school by taking biology, chemistry, and participating in public speaking or debate clubs. In college, one can take classes like anatomy, physiology, pathology, embalming techniques, restorative art, business management, computer use and client services. There are some special character traits a mortician must possess, including composure, tact, and the ability to communicate with the public. Some funeral directors start by working under someone else until they get enough money, and then they can branch off and start their own businesses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Funeral directors held about 30,000 jobs in 2004, according to OOH. Twenty percent were self-employed. Nearly all worked in the death care services industry. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Employment for funeral directors is expected to increase more slowly than average occupations through the year 2014, OOH tells us. The need to replace funeral directors who retire or leave the occupation for other reasons will account for more job openings than will employment growth. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Funeral directors are older than people in other occupations and should be retiring in greater numbers between 2004 and 2014. Some funeral directors can't take the long and irregular hours any more, so they decide to leave the business. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| According to Delta College, earnings of morticians vary according to the size of the funeral home and the number of funerals handled. Funeral director'ss annual earnings were $45,960 in May 2004. Fifty percent of them earned between $35,880 and $60,860. In the low percentile, they earned less that $26,470, and in the very top percentile, they earned anywhere from $85,910 to $96,470. In order for a funeral directors salary to increase, the funeral home has to be in business for a number of years, and they must have performed a number of services. Income also depends on the number of facilities operated, the area of the country, the size of the community, and the level of formal education. A funeral director in a small town or in a rural area does not earn as much as director's in large cities. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thomas Lynch, funeral director and famous writer asserts, "I'm more interested in the meaning of funerals and the mourning that people do. It's not a retail experience. It's an existential one." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| References | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupational Outlook Handbook. (2007). Funeral directors. Retrieved October 24, 2007 from | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos011.htm. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Delta College (2007). �Mortician/ Funeral directors.� Retrieved October 7, 2007 from | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| http://www.delta.edu/careercenter/CareerProfiles/morticianprofile.html. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lynch, T. (2007). Retrieved November 14, 2007 from | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/t/thomas_lynch.html. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Return to my homepage. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||