Career Explorer Personal care
Human edge, steady
Morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers
Perform various tasks to arrange and direct individual funeral services, such as coordinating transportation of body to mortuary, interviewing family or other authorized person to arrange details, selecting pallbearers, aiding with the selection of officials for religious rites, and providing transportation for mourners.
Among the most resilient careers: more resilient than 87% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it moderate), and US jobs are projected to change by +3.0% by 2035, slower than average. The work leans on emotional intelligence and ethical judgement.
AI struggles with much of this work. Hiring is expected to grow slower than average, or to shrink.
- Median pay (2025)
- $55,010
- Job growth to 2035
- +3.0%
- Openings a year
- 3,000
- People doing it (2025)
- 26,700
- Usual route in
- Associate's degree, then long on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Confer with clients to determine needs or order specifications
- Counsel others about personal matters
- Gather information from physical or electronic sources
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures
- Move materials, equipment, or supplies
- Escort others
What the work looks like
- Oversee the preparation and care of the remains of people who have died.
- Obtain information needed to complete legal documents, such as death certificates or burial permits.
- Perform embalming duties, as necessary.
- Consult with families or friends of the deceased to arrange funeral details, such as obituary notice wording, casket selection, or plans for services.
- Remove deceased remains from place of death.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Occupational therapy assistantsHuman edge, growing, Index 99, +21.5%
- Physical therapist assistantsHuman edge, growing, Index 99, +23.0%
- Respiratory therapistsHuman edge, growing, Index 93, +8.5%
- Occupational health and safety specialistsHuman edge, growing, Index 93, +18.5%
Also known as: Funeral Arranger, Funeral Counselor, Funeral Director, Mortician, Funeral Arrangement Director, Funeral Family Service Assistant, Funeral Location Manager, Funeral Prearrangement Counselor.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.