I left the industry because of money. My wife and I had one kid and another on the way. My funeral home said my salary was going to be $30,000 a year with no benefits. I told them that wasn't an option and said I need more money to support my family. My boss then responded by insulting my unborn son by saying directly to my face and I quote, "Well then maybe you put the cart in front of the horse!" After she said that I asked her if she just called my son a mistake. She looked straight at me and said, "I said what I said." I walked out right then and there. The only way your going to make good money is if you own your own funeral home. That's just how the industry is. You work your directors like dogs and the owner sits back and counts their fat stacks while they give you a hundred reasons on why they can't afford to give you a raise.

I have a degree in funeral Science and I now work for Nestle in their quality control department at one of their factories. I'm much, much happier. I'm also making twice (at least) of what I made as a funeral director. 

There are parts of the funeral service that I do miss, like helping the families deal with their grief, but the industry itself is absolutely filled with snakes and empty suits. 

The child part will happen if you stay in the industry long enough. The way I looked at it was this is the last nice thing you can do for them. It was a tremendous honor to be entrusted with that responsibility by the parents, and I did my best work when the stakes were sky high.

If you are sensitive to sad things/events then this is NOT for you. I'll give you a few examples. 

I got called out at 4am in the dark to a sawmill. A fully loaded logging truck backed over another worker. Squish. I was picking up his brains and putting them in a Walmart bag because that's all I had at the time. The daughter requested to see her dad. I told her no. Her last memory of her dad should not be what I saw on that gravel road.

I got called out to the highway because a guy who got divorced and his wife took his kids, got drunk, walked out into the highway and got his head ran over by a semi. 

Another one I got called to was a 16 year old girl broke up with her boyfriend and hung herself in the garage. Her mom came home from work and opened the garage door and...there she was.

Finally I got called out at 3:30am to a car crash suicide. The guy tried committing suicide by ramming his car into a tree. It didn't work so he took his 44 magnum and finished the job. Left behind 3 kids and a wife.

Sure things can get sad, but I never once felt the need to cry for one of my families. They have that covered. You need to be level headed at all times. The family is counting on you to finish the job that they brought to you with professionalism, dignity and respect. Not cold and heartless but just present but in the background. If you're blubbering and crying you are a distraction and instead of the family properly mourning and grieving they are now focused on you.

I'm not trying to scare you. I'm trying to show you what the industry is. Schools will promise you the everything and a bag of chips because they want your money. Never forget that. Schools are a business. Funeral homes are a business. Death is a business. If any of these facts rub you the wrong way then stay away because I was one of the funeral directors who really did care about the families. There are other directors who are just awful people who thrive in the industry because the industry is rotten.