Typically, when someone thinks of the type of person who aspires to be a mortician, they might think of someone who is fascinated by macabre. While being okay with death and dead bodies naturally comes with the job, mortuary sciences are a bit more complex than that.
Let’s take a look at the process of how to become a mortician, as well as what qualities an aspiring mortician should hold.
What Exactly Do Morticians Do?
Morticians, who may also be known as funeral directors or undertakers, do an extremely important job that will always be necessary: assisting grieving families after their loved ones have passed away.
Contrary to popular belief, a mortician will work with the deceased’s family just as much, if not more, than handling the body. Morticians exist to lighten a family’s load during an extremely stressful and depressing time.
Here are some of the duties that a mortician will fulfill:
- Scheduling the burial;
- Arranging a cremation if that is requested;
- Setting up transportation for the body and funeral guests;
- Embalming the deceased’s body;
- Retrieving the death certificate;
- Preparing the funeral service;
- Emotionally supporting the family and other loved ones;
Many of the tasks that a mortician will conduct are behind-the-scenes, such as paperwork and contacting the cemetery and hospital.
How To Know if Mortuary Science is Right For You
Since the career involves so much death and other emotional tolls, mortuary science is not an ideal path for everyone. Someone who has excellent interpersonal skills should really excel in this career path, as it requires compassion, yet clarity when it comes to informing families on what to expect with the funeral process.
Organization and Event Planning Skills
The majority of work that comes with being a mortician involves a lot of planning and organization. Morticians are in charge of every aspect in the funeral process, from the obituary to transportation to and from the funeral. They’ll help with the funeral’s location, date and time as well as planning other events like the wake or other memorial services.
In some cases, a mortician will assist someone who is arranging their own funeral ahead of time to help remove stress from their family when that day finally comes.
Love for Sciences and Art
When attending schooling to achieve a mortuary science degree (which will be discussed further below), much of the curriculum focuses on things like human biology, microbiology, thanatochemistry (the chemistry of death), and the psychology around death.
Someone who is pursuing the mortuary sciences should be interested in science topics like anatomy or physiology.
Knowledge and Drive (or Desire) to Run a Business
As previously mentioned, being a mortician requires a surprisingly a lot of paperwork and collaborating with hospitals and insurance companies. There are many administrative duties that need to be covered for the deceased’s family.
Emotional and Physical Strength
Even when you are a funeral director, death is still a little scary. But when you see it everyday, it becomes a bit more normalized. For some people, however, death will never become a thing that they adjust to. It is also incredibly difficult to work with grieving families at times, even when you have gotten “used” to the process of death.
When it comes to physical fitness, morticians will often be on their feet, as well as lifting bodies, caskets, floral arrangements, and so much more.
The Process of Becoming a Mortician
Each state has different requirements that are necessary for becoming a mortician. Typically though, these are the requirements:
- Earning a high school diploma or GED;
- Completing prerequisite courses if necessary;
- Receiving an associate or bachelor’s degree from accredited programs if necessary;
- Work under supervision for 1-3 years in an internship or apprenticeship;
- Passing any required licensing exams (more information below);
- Keeping up with education, as mortician licenses expire every few years;
Depending on the state that you live in, there are three necessary licensing exams that you may need to pass either some or all of. These three exams are the National Board Exam (NBE), the State Board Exam (SBE), and your state’s Laws, Rules, and Regulations (LRR) exam.
The state of Pennsylvania requires the applicant to complete the National Board Exam and written and oral examinations during a clinical practice of funeral directing.
Final Thoughts
Mortuary science is not for everyone, but if you think you are prepared to handle it as a career, then it could be extremely rewarding knowing that you are helping families during an extremely difficult time period. We at PIMS are willing to assist you during every step of your process at becoming a mortician. You can read our successful alumni stories here.
