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Funeral directors can be known as morticians or undertakers, and they are responsible for managing the logistics and arrangements of funerals. A director may put up funeral notices and place them in local newspapers, arranging for a church service and a grave opening, providing transportation for the deceased and the mourners.

Other responsibilities of a funeral director can include asking the family about their wishes of how they want their loved one to be buried and the arrangements of the funeral ceremony, in addition to establishing the time and location of the burial and memorial services. It is becoming increasingly common for morticians to offer counseling services to the family of the deceased.

Funeral directors are licensed as embalmers, and they will often prepare the bodies themselves although in larger homes there may be morticians who specialize in such procedures. When washing a body, it will usually be cleansed with soap and then the blood will be replaced with embalming fluid. After this has been completed, a they will then transport the remains to a grave or memorial service, at which point a ceremony will occur and the grave will be closed.

Most funeral homes are family affairs and most morticians will not work more than eight hours a day, 40 hours a week. Their hours may include nights and weekends in order to properly care for the dead, depending on the hours of funeral home operation. Morticians are licensed by all states in America, and requirements usually include being 21 years of age and having two years of formal education as a funeral director. The most common courses taken by an individual in mortuary science will include anatomy, physiology, involving techniques, body restoration, and accounting.

In 2006, these professionals had about 29,000 jobs in America, with almost a fifth being self-employed, and job prospects for the future in mortuary science are promising due to an aging population in America.

In 2006, the middle 50th percentile of funeral directors made between $37,000 and $65,000, with the highest paid 10% earning over $92,000 on median. Wages paid to these persons will vary depending on experience and the location of the home, with those working in larger cities earning more than those in rural areas.

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