Embalmers

Prepare bodies for interment in conformity with legal requirements.

Realistic - Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

1. Conform to laws of health and sanitation and ensure that legal requirements concerning embalming are met.

2. Apply cosmetics to impart lifelike appearance to the deceased.

3. Incise stomach and abdominal walls and probe internal organs, using trocar, to withdraw blood and waste matter from organs.

4. Close incisions, using needles and sutures.

5. Reshape or reconstruct disfigured or maimed bodies when necessary, using dermasurgery techniques and materials such as clay, cotton, plaster of Paris, and wax.

6. Make incisions in arms or thighs and drain blood from circulatory system and replace it with embalming fluid, using pump.

7. Dress bodies and place them in caskets.

8. Perform the duties of funeral directors, including coordinating funeral activities.

9. Join lips, using needles and thread or wire.

10. Conduct interviews to arrange for the preparation of obituary notices, to assist with the selection of caskets or urns, and to determine the location and time of burials or cremations.

11. Attach trocar to pump-tube, start pump, and repeat probing to force embalming fluid into organs.

Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.

Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Science - Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.

Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.

Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed

Education: Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree. Some may require a bachelor's degree.

Training: Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers.

The college search results are undergraduate programs associated with Embalmers. Further education may also be required to pursue this career.

The training search results include both short and long-term programs associated with Embalmers, and may be more appropriate for adult and non-traditional students. Further training may also be required to pursue this career.

In NY the average wage for this occupation was:

$30,940 for entry level workers, and $64,280 for experienced workers.

Based on the total number of annual openings and its growth rate, the employment prospects for this occupation are described as Favorable.

During 2006, there were approximately 630 Embalmers employed in NY.

We estimate that in 2016 there will be 680  employed in NY. This represents an increase of 10 job(s) each year, and a total of 20 job openings each year.

Funeral directors - Visit this link for additional information on this career from the Occupational Outlook Handbook; a publication produced and maintained by the United States Department of Labor.

Agricultural Technicians - Set up and maintain laboratory equipment and collect samples from crops or animals. Prepare specimens and record data to assist scientist in biology or related science experiments.