Being A Funeral Director

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Can someone with autism become a funeral firector?

Regardless of diagnosis; how are your people skills? Funeral directing requires a lot of face-to-face interaction with folks who often are emoting and deeply grieving; to be successful they must find you deeply empathetic, relatable, and reliable. Concomitant with empathy and compassion, you must be able to maintain a high degree of clinical detachment. It is a business; among other things, you need a good background in accounting and business law. In the state where I studied mortuary sciences, funeral directors are also embalmers; they need a decent familiarity with chemistry, an extensive knowledge of human anatomy, and the ability to work with human remains in any imaginable condition.

From having been in the prepaid funeral insurance business, there is also the sales aspect to consider.

Funeral homes often make a significant portion of their income through selling prepaid funerals. Someone will come in and arrange / pay for their own or a family member's funeral services in advance so that it doesn't have to be a concern at the time of death. One straddles the line between trying to sell as much stuff at as as possible and not making the customer feel ripped off. To offer prepaid funerals (which are insured) you will need a life and health insurance sales license.

It's even trickier selling services at time of need. On the one hand it can be an easier sell encouraging families who are so devastated they don't know which end is up that they should spring for the super deluxe casket because they want the very best for grandma, right? On the other hand once they see the bill the family can turn on you and accuse you of ripping them off while they are vulnerable, so that isn't necessarily the best idea on both moral and business grounds.

It's a business. Funeral homes provide a much needed service. They also exist to make money. The sad fact is that they have to profit from others' grief. A background in business management and sales is advisable, along with absolutely stellar diplomatic skills.