LITTLETON, Colo. — It's estimated that in the next five years, more than 60% of funeral home owners across the country will retire and leave the industry. The good news: there are more students than ever across the country studying to step into their roles.
“We're called last responders,” said Haug. “A lot of people have taken on that, that title, especially after COVID, because of all the attention, you know, put on the first responders deservedly. But also, we're an easy profession to forget about until you need us, and, you know, all of the things that came up with COVID really brought attention to what we do and made people consider it as a career field.”“2020, we saw a big jump in enrollment,” she said.
“My mother said when I told her I was getting into the program, there are two things people always need: haircuts and funerals,” said student Kyle Dunn, who hopes to own his own funeral home someday.“We're the people that have to be there to help other people. You know, we can be emotional and be stressed and feel pain about it later,” said Dunn. “I just hope people realize how much time and effort people in the funeral industry put into this work because they really give it their all.
The process of getting the degree is shorter and less expensive than a traditional four-year college degree program. Salaries aren’t often above six figures, but depending on what position and what city, some jobs in the funeral service industry can pay $65,000-$75,000 within the first few years after graduating.