Embalmers
Prepare bodies for interment in conformity with legal requirements.
What it pays
Embalmers earn a median of $28.26/hr — about $59,000 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $18.42/hr; the top 10% earn $37.29/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
Embalmers earn a median of $28.26/hr — about $59,000 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $18.42/hr; the top 10% earn $37.29/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
What you'd actually do
- Conform to laws of health and sanitation and ensure that legal requirements concerning embalming are met.
- Apply cosmetics to impart lifelike appearance to the deceased.
- Join lips, using needles and thread or wire.
- Close incisions, using needles and sutures.
- Incise stomach and abdominal walls and probe internal organs, using trocar, to withdraw blood and waste matter from organs.
- Clean and disinfect areas in which bodies are prepared and embalmed.
How you get there
Typical entry-level education: Associate degree. Overall preparation: medium preparation (Job Zone 3 of 5).
The feel of the work
Much of the work happens outdoors; time pressure is a real part of the job; it rewards working independently; precision matters — small details carry weight. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)
Working for yourself
About 4.8% of embalmers are self-employed.
Who it tends to fit
This work tends to fit people who are hands-on, organized and detail-focused and people-focused.
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Quick questions
- How much does a embalmer make?
- The median pay is $28.26 per hour — roughly $59,000 a year, with the real range running from about $18.42/hr (10th percentile) to $37.29/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Do you need a degree to be a embalmer?
- The typical entry-level education is: Associate degree. Overall preparation level: medium preparation (Job Zone 3 of 5).
- What does a embalmer actually do all day?
- Conform to laws of health and sanitation and ensure that legal requirements concerning embalming are met. Apply cosmetics to impart lifelike appearance to the deceased. Join lips, using needles and thread or wire.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS. Tasks & interests: O*NET. Career pathways shown in the app are draft archetypes — verify before relying on them. Trailhead is a free career guide for students — honest numbers, no hype.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.