Funeral attendant vs crematory operator

The differences between funeral attendants and crematory operators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a crematory operator has an average salary of $38,621, which is higher than the $30,116 average annual salary of a funeral attendant.

The top three skills for a funeral attendant include customer service, viewings and funeral homes. The most important skills for a crematory operator are adjacent facilities, PET, and OSHA.

Funeral attendant vs crematory operator overview

	Funeral Attendant	Crematory Operator
Yearly salary	$30,116	$38,621
Hourly rate	$14.48	$18.57
Growth rate	8%	-8%
Number of jobs	45,821	30,404
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 30%	Associate Degree, 41%
Average age	51	51
Years of experience	-	-

Funeral attendant vs crematory operator salary

Funeral attendants and crematory operators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Funeral Attendant	Crematory Operator
Average salary	$30,116	$38,621
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $37,000	Between $26,000 And $56,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between funeral attendant and crematory operator education

There are a few differences between a funeral attendant and a crematory operator in terms of educational background:

	Funeral Attendant	Crematory Operator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 30%	Associate Degree, 41%
Most common major	Business	Mortuary Science
Most common college	University of Minnesota - Twin Cities	University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Funeral attendant vs crematory operator demographics

Here are the differences between funeral attendants' and crematory operators' demographics:

	Funeral Attendant	Crematory Operator
Average age	51	51
Gender ratio	Male, 67.0% Female, 33.0%	Male, 79.7% Female, 20.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 3.6% White, 70.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 7.4% Unknown, 3.5% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 3.7% White, 73.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between funeral attendant and crematory operator duties and responsibilities

Funeral attendant example 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.

Crematory operator example responsibilities.

Manage the master calendar and schedule resources such as communication equipment, weapons, transportation and ammunition forecast and delivery.
Keep accurate maintenance records for OSHA.
Conform to all local, state and federal laws, including OSHA requirements.
Leverage strengths in daily operations running the pet and human cremation division of the crematory at Schoedinger.
Face to face interaction with families during witness cremation services and providing care to grieving pet owners as well.
Monitor combat missions through satellite and computer global positioning systems in order to prepare accurate reports for unit commanders.

Funeral attendant vs crematory operator skills

Common funeral attendant skills

Customer Service, 65%
Viewings, 9%
Funeral Homes, 9%
Memorial Services, 5%
Funeral Directors, 4%
Death Certificates, 1%

Common crematory operator skills

Adjacent Facilities, 55%
PET, 19%
OSHA, 11%
EPA, 9%
General Maintenance, 2%
Death Certificates, 2%

Updated January 8, 2025

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