How To Become A Funeral Attendant: What It Is and Career Path

What is a funeral attendant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Although being a funeral attendant may seem to be a very somber job, it can also be very fulfilling. As a funeral attendant, you'll help families deal with making appropriate arrangements to honor the death of a loved one. The main function of these attendants is to handle all aspects of preparing a facility for a funeral so that the service proceeds smoothly.

These attendants perform a variety of tasks to assist with the funeral, such as transporting the deceased to the funeral home, placing the casket in the parlor, organizing flower arrangements and lighting, closing and preparing the casket for burial, and cleaning the funeral equipment.

This entry-level position doesn't require any formal education. However, if you're thinking of doing this type of work, you'll need to have excellent customer service skills and be able to display authentic sincerity. Since you'll be working closely with people who are going through the grieving process, you'll need to understand how to properly assist them with their funeral planning needs.

ScoreFuneral AttendantUS Average

Salary

2.4

Avg. Salary $30,116

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.3

Growth rate 8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.68%

Asian 3.59%

Black or African American 11.37%

Hispanic or Latino 10.77%

Unknown 3.44%

White 70.14%

Gender

female 32.97%

male 67.03%

Age - 51

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 51

Stress level

7.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.6

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.5

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a funeral attendant

Explore funeral attendant education requirements

Most common funeral attendant degrees

Bachelor's

29.6 %

Associate

28.2 %

High School Diploma

26.4 %

Start to develop specific funeral attendant skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	65.25%
Viewings	9.37%
Funeral Homes	9.29%
Memorial Services	5.47%
Funeral Directors	3.57%

Complete relevant funeral attendant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New funeral attendants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a funeral attendant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real funeral attendant resumes.

Research funeral attendant duties and responsibilities

Accomplish multiple tasks daily including cleaning, mowing, delivering notices/important packages.
Attend funerals, viewings and other celebrations of life as appropriate for the deceased's family and friends bereavement needs.
Interview patients for admission and discharge purposes, verify their eligibility for medical benefits and assist in providing for patient accommodations.
Utilize the HMIS systems to manage and maintain customer records.

Prepare your funeral attendant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your funeral attendant resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a funeral attendant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable funeral attendant resume templates

Build a professional funeral attendant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your funeral attendant resume.