Guest article by: Rochelle Rietow, FuneralOne
Firefighter, president of the universe, pizza maker, astronaut—all common answers from kids when they’re asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” And they’re all good ones, but we happen to think there’s another great answer missing from the list: funeral director.
Okay, so we can admit that not a lot of kids will jump up and down excitedly at the thought of planning and creating funeral and memorial services for a living. But what might seem like a boring or even somewhat strange profession is actually a deeply rewarding one, full of opportunities for a person’s innate creativity and imagination to shine—not to mention, opportunities to make an important difference in the community and the lives of people who’ve lost a loved one.
And as a matter of fact, there are plenty of ways to be involved in the funeral profession and either follow in a family tradition or pursue a personal career goal that don’t have to specifically mean planning or arranging funerals. Funeral homes rely on various professionals just like all other businesses, including marketing teams, office and administrative personnel, human resources and more.
So with National Take Your Kid to Work Day coming up next week, we decided to gather some of our top reasons kids should want to work in the funeral profession. Share these insights with the kids in your life (and even invite them in for a tour of your facilities) to help them explore a career path they might never have considered before. (And while you’re at it, take some time to remember why you love the work you get to do too!)
You get to tell real stories—important ones, that people love to hear.
There’s no greater story to tell than the life story of a loved one. As a funeral professional, you get to participate in this storytelling experience. Helping families and friends share their loved one’s journeys and tales is the central purpose of a funeral director. Creative, imaginative, personal storytelling is part of the job description. As a funeral professional, the stories you help to tell will be the ones people are ultimately remembered by, and that’s an awesome power and responsibility to have. So many people just want to be remembered after they’re gone, and a fitting and appropriate funeral or memorial service is one way to ensure that.
You’ll be able to help people in the times they need help the most.
Grieving the loss of a loved one is a trying time in a person’s life. As a funeral director, you play a role in supporting and caring for people in their greatest time of need. For those who are natural-born caregivers and counselors, this profession provides an opportunity to be there for members of your community and really make a difference in their lives. The people you help while planning or arranging a funeral service will always remember the impact you had on them and appreciate your support and care for a long time afterward.
You will work with the most compassionate and inspiring colleagues around.
Working in the funeral service profession, you’ll find many people just like you—people who want to make a difference, help people, offer support and compassion, and change lives. To work in the funeral profession requires a certain type of personality, and as such you’ll find yourself happily working alongside colleagues of a rare but spectacular breed. You’ll be inspired daily by the imagination and ability to think big that you’ll find within your colleagues.
You’ll be a treasured and important community leader.
Funeral homes are small business, mostly independent, and being a community business-owner or working for an independent business positions you to make a difference in the lives of not just the family members you serve, but your community in general. And as part of a team offering a valuable and irreplaceable service to your city, you’ll have opportunities to make a difference on an even larger scale as a community leader.
You’ll be able to participate in awe-inspiring events, like this one,these options or these.
Funeral services of the past were somber, sad and still events that were spoken of in hushed, tear-soaked voices only. But a new generation of funeral professionals are seeing a different side of things: Funerals and memorial services can be colorful, inspired, creative, even—yes—fun! events that celebrate life and help family and friends remember the truly vibrant and unique souls of their loved ones. And in some cases, like funeral services for fallen heroes and truly great people, a service can be a life-affirming and powerful event that reminds you to be grateful for life and proud of the life you live.
To learn more about how you can help inspire families to think differently about a funeral (and, in turn, help them see the value in your services), click here for a demo of our funeral solutions.
What did we miss?! Add your #1 reason someone should aspire to work in the funeral profession!
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Hello there! I’m a funeral director who authored a book for children I think would be of interest to your readers. It’s titled “When My Baba Died” and it explains from wake to cemetery the Orthodox Christian funeral service.
The accompanying activity workbook is of particular interest as I specifically created pages that highlight the positive impact funeral directors have on a family during their time of grief. In the storybook I explain the job of the priest, and in the activity workbook I go more in-depth about the job of the funeral director and even have a section asking kids to look up the coursework for the mortuary program nearest them and write in the space provided any classes they may find interesting to take…with the aim of sparking interest in our profession and sewing seeds for future directors.
Check out my page above for more information, thanks! PS: I offer discounts to funeral homes who may wish to use this book as an outreach tool for their local Orthodox churches. It would be a worthwhile endeavor as every call would be a guaranteed traditional burial. Thanks for the great blog post!
This is an interesting article. However, it is a glimpse of the past of this once fine profession. With discounters, casket stores, etc. the face of funeral service has changed. I discouraged my children from entering the profession because of the long hours, reduced profit margin, more people opting for no service, etc…..I was glad I was able to sell my business (70%) cremation rate. If I had it to do over I would have chosen another profession. Forty years ago, the mortician was looked upto in the community..but as soon as a discounter enters the arena…loyalty is gone. If families can save a buck and get less or limited service, they will. Clergy also promote these discounters.
I love this article – and others like it – as they focus on not only the service that funeral directors give but also how they help the families in an emotional way. In my opinion, a funeral director is not overly different from a midwife, in the way they help families at the extreme ends of life. I think more children should appreciate how important a part funeral directors play in coming to terms with death and the immediacy of grief. We often support families long after their loved ones have passed and we feel honoured to play such a vital part in people’s lives.
I liked and appreciated this article. As explained, these are the things that drew me to funeral service 50 years ago. As an employee, I didn’t need to worry about the bottom line. I can tell you that I made money for everyone who hired me. That to me was also my job. The long hours and all the other negatives didn’t both me at all. I met hundreds if not thousands of wonderful people that i would never have had the opportunity to, in any other situation or profession. The other death-care providers I have worked with, have been wonderful people, worthy of the title.