Funeral Service Education - After Graduation
For the past 10 years or more, there have been significantly more employment opportunities in the Pacific Northwest than there have been qualified employees. Other parts of the country vary as to the availability of employment.
Future Careers
MHCC Career Coaches are here to help you explore your career options after graduation. Below are a few common paths graduates can pursue.
Embalmers
Embalmers are trained to prepare bodies through special procedures while conforming to laws of health and sanitation. They may also help perform the duties of funeral directors, including coordinating the service and other general maintenance for funeral homes.
Funeral Home Managers
As a funeral home manager, you will oversee and direct a variety of tasks necessary to run a funeral home. This can include consulting with families and friends of the deceased, arranging funeral details, maintaining records, offering counsel and comfort, and more.
Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers
Morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers help to prepare the deceased for funeral services. This can include getting necessary legal documents in order, performing embalming duties, offering counseling and comfort, service planning, and directing other necessary preparations for end of life services.
Learn more with MHCC's Career coachJob Boards
Here are places to search for current openings at organizations that hire for your skill set.
- Handshake
- Indeed
Student Success Story
Angela McKenzie-Tucker found her calling in life at a fairly young age and decided to set her sights on a career in funeral Service. Her decision was driven by wanting “to serve and support others during one of life’s most fearful and stressful times,” she explains.
While living in rural Montana, she researched funeral service programs and found that MHCC has one of the best in the country–including those found at four-year universities.
She enrolled at MHCC in 2003 and says, “In MHCC I found a special place where I felt I belonged, with small class sizes, motivated students, accessible faculty, and relevant and affordable courses.”
After graduating in 2005, she immediately went to work at a local funeral home and was later promoted to general manager of three sites. “Every day, I sit across from bereaved families and I see that their world has just fallen apart. I will not let them down. My promise to these families is that the service to honor their loved one transpires perfectly.”
As a way to give back to the college, she is a volunteer member of the MHCC Foundation Board, which provides scholarships and resources for students so that they may have an opportunity to pursue their passions, achieve their dreams, and obtain jobs in the careers they love, just as she did.
Take the next step with Mt. Hood Community College
Have questions about the Funeral Service Education Program?
Read Funeral Service Education Frequently Asked Questions