Buried in Work Shop Heirloom & Tell End of Life Careers
End of Life Careers

A Buried in Work Charitable Initiative

More than three million people die in the United States every year

Behind each one is a range of professions most people never hear about. The nurse and the doula. The investigator and the embalmer. The attorney who settles the estate and the person who closes the accounts. This is what those careers involve, what they ask of you, and how people get into them.

Explore 27 roles Is this work right for you?

Deaths registered in 2024. CDC National Center for Health Statistics.

The work around a death

Some of it happens years ahead. Some of it happens in one afternoon. Most of it happens long after the funeral is over.

Before anyone is ill

Work that happens years ahead, while there is time to decide things calmly.

While someone is dying

Care, company and comfort in the last months, weeks and days.

At the time of death

The people who come when someone dies, and who care for the body afterwards.

In the months that follow

Grief, paperwork, property, accounts, taxes, and the long tail of a life.

Several of these appear in more than one column, because the work genuinely spans it. A chaplain sits with someone dying and with the family long afterwards. See all 27 roles, with what each one takes →

Start somewhere unexpected

Six that people rarely think of as careers at all.

Music Thanatology Learn how to become a music thanatologist and bring comfort to the dying through live harp and vocal music at the bedside. Anatomical Gift Program Coordinator Explore a career as an anatomical gift program coordinator. Learn about body donation programs and how to support medical education with compassion. Digital Legacy Specialist Learn what a digital legacy specialist does, from organizing accounts and passwords to memorializing profiles, and whether the work suits your skills. Daily Money Manager Help older adults, people managing an illness, and families after a death keep on top of bills, paperwork, insurance claims, and the everyday financial admin nobody warns them about. Forensic Pathologist Explore the forensic pathologist career path, including education, daily duties, and how these medical experts uncover the truth after death. Death Doula Discover how to become a death doula and support individuals and families through the final stages of life with care and compassion.

Browse by field

Funeral & deathcare operations 8 roles Death investigation & forensics 3 roles Clinical & bedside care 4 roles Companionship & grief support 2 roles After-loss & legacy 5 roles Estate, financial & legacy planning 5 roles

Training and credentials

Schools & programs83 accredited mortuary science and funeral service programs, filterable by state, credential, and whether you can study at a distance. 36 states Certifications & licenses50 credentials, marked as licenses you must hold, certifications that prove competence, or training that simply teaches you the work. All fields ScholarshipsFunding for mortuary science and end-of-life education. EventsConferences, conventions, and training workshops across the field. 119 upcoming

Spotlight

Women in end-of-life professions

Women have long been the backbone of end-of-life care: nursing the dying, comforting the grieving, managing the logistics of death, and nearly everything in between. For much of modern history that work was undervalued or unseen. Today women are claiming the field not only as caregivers but as funeral directors, death doulas, hospice leaders and legal advocates.

Meet them

Allyse R. Worland Owner, Funeral Director, Embalmer Barbara Kemmis Executive Director, Cremation Association of North America Danielle Knapp CEO and Executive Director, Iowa Funeral Directors Association Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider Founder, End Well; Physician and Science Journalist Jasmine Hathaway Founder, Compass Coordinators; Co-Founder, Professionals of After Loss Services Jess Wakefield Funeral Director and Advocate, Better Place Forests Joél Simone Maldonado "The Grave Woman" Funeral Director, Embalmer, Sacred Grief Practitioner; Founder of The Multicultural Death & Grief Care Academy Lanae Strovers Funeral Director and NFDA Trainer Lisa Baue Founder of Funeral Women Lead Mikey Marin Founder, Healing Hearts House (Death Doula)

Is an end-of-life career right for you?

Why people choose this work, what the training actually asks of you, and how to tell whether it fits before you commit to it.

Find out

Common questions

Do I need a medical degree?
No. End-of-life work includes healthcare, funeral service, grief support, law, estate administration, caregiving, genealogy, memorialization, technology, logistics, and many other fields. Some roles require advanced degrees or professional licenses. Others require certifications, specialized training, apprenticeships, or no formal credential at all.
How do I know which career is right for me?
Start with the kind of work you want to do. Some roles involve direct work with dying people or grieving families. Others focus on the deceased, administration, planning, science, technology, property, or behind-the-scenes operations. Explore the roles to compare responsibilities, training requirements, compensation, and work environments.
Do I need a license or certification?
It depends on the profession and where you live. Some occupations are regulated by state law and require specific education, examinations, or licenses. Others have voluntary certifications or no formal credentialing requirements. Each career page explains the typical pathway and where to verify current requirements.
Can I enter this field as a second career?
Absolutely. Many end-of-life professions draw on skills from healthcare, social work, hospitality, law, finance, counseling, operations, communications, technology, and other industries. Some careers require substantial retraining, while others may have relatively accessible entry points.

All questions