Funeral Attendants

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

• Attend to the needs of the bereaved, such as by offering comfort, counseling, or after-care programs.
• Offer assistance to mourners as they enter or exit limousines.
• Clean and drive funeral vehicles, such as cars or hearses, in funeral processions.
• Deliver floral arrangements or other items to family members of the deceased.
• Issue and store funeral equipment.
• Embalm, dress, cosmeticize, and casket the deceased.
• Prepare obituaries for newspapers.
• Obtain burial permits and register deaths.
• Transport the deceased to the funeral home.
• Assist with cremations and the processing and packaging of cremated remains.
• Clean funeral parlors or chapels.
• Supervise funeral processions and assist with cemetery parking.
• Carry flowers to hearses or limousines for transportation to places of interment.
• Perform general maintenance tasks for funeral homes, such as maintaining equipment or caring for funeral grounds.
• Assist with cremations and the processing and packaging of cremated remains.
• Greet people at the funeral home.
• Perform a variety of tasks during funerals to assist funeral directors and to ensure that services run smoothly and as planned.
• Close caskets at appropriate point in services.
• Direct or escort mourners to parlors or chapels in which wakes or funerals are being held.
• Direct or escort mourners to parlors or chapels in which wakes or funerals are being held.
• Place caskets in parlors or chapels prior to wakes or funerals.
• Arrange floral offerings or lights around caskets.
• Clean and drive funeral vehicles, such as cars or hearses, in funeral processions.
• Act as pallbearers.
• Provide advice to mourners on how to make charitable donations in honor of the deceased.
• Embalm, dress, cosmeticize, and casket the deceased.
• Obtain doctors' signatures on death certificate and complete other paperwork, such as insurance claims forms.
• Perform various administrative tasks, such as typing documents or answering telephone calls.

Skills

• Critical Thinking
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
• Service Orientation
  • Looking for ways to help people.
• Coordination
  • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
• Science
  • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
• Social Perceptiveness
  • Understanding people's reactions.
• Writing
  • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
• Repairing
  • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
• Management of Personnel Resources
  • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
• Management of Financial Resources
  • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
• Reading Comprehension
  • Reading work-related information.
• Monitoring
  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
• Operation and Control
  • Using equipment or systems.
• Equipment Maintenance
  • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
• Quality Control Analysis
  • Testing how well a product or service works.
• Time Management
  • Managing your time and the time of other people.
• Judgment and Decision Making
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
• Learning Strategies
  • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
• Mathematics
  • Using math to solve problems.
• Active Learning
  • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
• Instructing
  • Teaching people how to do something.
• Persuasion
  • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
• Operations Analysis
  • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
• Active Listening
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
• Programming
  • Writing computer programs.
• Management of Material Resources
  • Managing equipment and materials.
• Troubleshooting
  • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
• Systems Analysis
  • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
• Negotiation
  • Bringing people together to solve differences.
• Complex Problem Solving
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
• Operations Monitoring
  • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
• Equipment Selection
  • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
• Technology Design
  • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
• Installation
  • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
• Systems Evaluation
  • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
• Speaking
  • Talking to others.

Abilities

• Inductive Reasoning
  • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
• Speed of Closure
  • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
• Written Comprehension
  • Reading and understanding what is written.
• Fluency of Ideas
  • Coming up with lots of ideas.
• Peripheral Vision
  • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
• Sound Localization
  • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
• Dynamic Strength
  • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
• Spatial Orientation
  • Knowing where things are around you.
• Problem Sensitivity
  • Noticing when problems happen.
• Extent Flexibility
  • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Auditory Attention
  • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
• Time Sharing
  • Doing two or more things at the same time.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
  • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
• Finger Dexterity
  • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
• Control Precision
  • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
• Category Flexibility
  • Grouping things in different ways.
• Oral Comprehension
  • Listening and understanding what people say.
• Oral Expression
  • Communicating by speaking.
• Written Expression
  • Communicating by writing.
• Originality
  • Creating new and original ideas.
• Number Facility
  • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
• Speed of Limb Movement
  • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
• Dynamic Flexibility
  • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Gross Body Equilibrium
  • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
• Near Vision
  • Seeing details up close.
• Depth Perception
  • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
• Wrist-Finger Speed
  • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
• Hearing Sensitivity
  • Telling the difference between sounds.
• Deductive Reasoning
  • Using rules to solve problems.
• Stamina
  • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
• Glare Sensitivity
  • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
• Perceptual Speed
  • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
• Flexibility of Closure
  • Seeing hidden patterns.
• Visualization
  • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
• Manual Dexterity
  • Holding or moving items with your hands.
• Information Ordering
  • Ordering or arranging things.
• Mathematical Reasoning
  • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
• Reaction Time
  • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
• Memorization
  • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
• Rate Control
  • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
• Response Orientation
  • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
• Trunk Strength
  • Using your lower back and stomach.
• Visual Color Discrimination
  • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
• Explosive Strength
  • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
• Gross Body Coordination
  • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
• Speech Recognition
  • Recognizing spoken words.
• Static Strength
  • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
• Night Vision
  • Seeing at night or under low light.
• Far Vision
  • Seeing details that are far away.
• Speech Clarity
  • Speaking clearly.
• Selective Attention
  • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
• Multilimb Coordination
  • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

Knowledge

• Administration and Management
  • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Physics
  • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
• Education and Training
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Sales and Marketing
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• Engineering and Technology
  • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Building and Construction
  • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• Geography
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
• Philosophy and Theology
  • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
• Production and Processing
  • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Public Safety and Security
  • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Design
  • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Foreign Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
• Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• Chemistry
  • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• English Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• Psychology
  • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Mathematics
  • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Communications and Media
  • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Customer and Personal Service
  • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Administrative
  • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• Fine Arts
  • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• Personnel and Human Resources
  • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• Therapy and Counseling
  • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• Medicine and Dentistry
  • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• Computers and Electronics
  • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Transportation
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

Education

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

Less than 1 month on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

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Education and Training Opportunities

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Pay

Washington Annual Salary

38480/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

18.5/hr

Washington Employment Trends

Currently Employed

260

Yearly Projected Openings

40

Personality

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

• Sincerity
• Empathy
• Stress Tolerance
• Self-Control
• Cooperation
• Integrity

Tools

• Articulating boom lift
• Automobiles or cars
• Autopsy tables
• Cadaver carriers
• Cadaver lifter or transfer devices
• Container trailers
• Conveyor roller
• Dating or numbering machines
• Latch
• Limousines
• Minivans or vans
• Tampers

Technology

• Accounting software
• Human resources software
• Office suite software
• Spreadsheet software
• Word processing software