Personal care and service
Embalmer
Prepare bodies for interment in conformity with legal requirements.
Median pay
$58,780
Growth to 2035
+1%
little or no change
Openings a year
700
Time to qualify*
3 years
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Embalmer
$58,78010% earn under $38,310 · middle half $48,010–$66,130 · top 10% over $77,570
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- Associate's degree
- On-the-job training
- Long-term on-the-job training
- Prior experience
- None
What the work is like
Embalmer
Dealing with the public
Rarely
Constantly
Unpleasant or angry people
Rarely
Constantly
Time pressure
Rarely
Constantly
Cost of a mistake
Minor
Severe
Freedom to make decisions
Little
A lot
Repeating the same tasks
Rarely
Constantly
Time sitting
Rarely
Constantly
Time standing
Rarely
Constantly
Outdoors in all weather
Rarely
Constantly
Hazardous conditions
Rarely
Constantly
Exposure to disease
Rarely
Constantly
Embalmer: 49% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- Conform to laws of health and sanitation and ensure that legal requirements concerning embalming are met.
- Apply cosmetics to impart lifelike appearance to the deceased.
- Join lips, using needles and thread or wire.
- Close incisions, using needles and sutures.
- Incise stomach and abdominal walls and probe internal organs, using trocar, to withdraw blood and waste matter from organs.
- Clean and disinfect areas in which bodies are prepared and embalmed.
- Dress bodies and place them in caskets.
- Make incisions in arms or thighs and drain blood from circulatory system and replace it with embalming fluid, using pump.
Also called: Embalmer · Licensed Embalmer · Trade Embalmer
Outlook and AI
Embalmers held 3,900 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 4,000 by 2035 (+1%, little or no change; all jobs: +3.5%).
Compare with
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