Occupation
Funeral director
Funeral directors arrange and run funerals: meeting families, handling the deceased, filing legal paperwork, and coordinating everything the service requires. It is a logistics and compliance job carried out under emotional pressure and to an exact schedule, with no room to be late or wrong. Calls come at any hour and the work involves direct contact with the dead.
Also known as: Undertaker · Mortician · Funeral service director · Funeral arranger
Occupation content
Part of Community, social and public services
What the work involves
- Meet families to plan the service, burial or cremation, and associated arrangements
- Transfer and care for the deceased and prepare them for viewing or the service
- Complete death registrations, permits, and cemetery or crematorium documentation
- Coordinate clergy or celebrants, venues, transport, flowers, and notices
- Direct the funeral itself and manage the order of events on the day
- Handle accounts, contracts, and prearrangement records for the firm
How people commonly enter
- A college diploma or programme in funeral service, funeral directing, or mortuary science
- An apprenticeship or supervised traineeship with a licensed funeral home, where that route exists
- Licensing or registration with the funeral services regulator, which is required in many jurisdictions and often follows an examination and supervised practice
Typical training: Certificate or college diploma
Licensing: Regulated in most jurisdictions — confirm the current requirement with the regulator in your province, state, or country.
Typical work context
Public facing · Shift work · High responsibility · Varied work · Physically active
Related interests
Social (helping) · Enterprising (leading) · Conventional (organizing)
Related aptitude preparation
These are preparation links only. They do not measure eligibility for this occupation and no score here qualifies or disqualifies anyone.
Skills to practise
- Situational judgment
- Planning and scheduling exercises
- Data checking and clerical accuracy
- Written communication
- Attention and concentration
Practice suites
Related learning
Family-level learning links for Community, social and public services.
Official sources
Labour-market facts such as pay and employment projections are not reproduced here. Open an official source below for figures, with its own geography and reference period.
- O*NET OnLine — occupation search: funeral home manager and funeral attendant · United States
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- UK National Careers Service — Funeral director job profile · United Kingdom
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- Canada Job Bank — Career planning and occupation exploration (ESDC) · Canada
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Labour-market context (not part of exploration match)
This is broad family-level context for Community, social and public services in Canada, not a figure for Funeral director. It does not affect matching scores and is not an eligibility determination.
This is a broad Community, social and public services family. Explore the official profile for the chosen occupation; entry education and training can differ within the family.
Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period
Community, social and public services: education pathways
Some roles in Community, social and public services may be regulated. Confirm whether the specific role requires registration, certification, or a jurisdiction-specific licence.
Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period
Community, social and public services: licensing
Find jobs
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- Search Canada Job Bank · Canada
- Search USAJOBS · United States federal
- Search EURES · European Union / EEA
- Search Indeed · International (choose location on Indeed)