Career change as a funeral director

Career change paths

• Autopsy assistant in pathology

  Also: Autopsy assistant in forensic medicine

  With on-the-job training

  As an autopsy assistant you prepare autopsies, support doctors during the dissection, take samples, care for the deceased afterward, and keep rooms and instruments clean.

  What you bring:

  You work confidently, hygienically and with dignity with the deceased, and you know about care and laying out.

  How to get there:

  Pathology and forensic medicine institutes partly give funeral directors on-the-job training (Einarbeitung) themselves. School-based training as dissection technician assistant (Präparationstechnischer Assistent) is offered only by a few schools, for example in Bochum, and takes three years. Employers are mainly university hospitals, large hospitals and forensic medicine institutes.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Physically demandingLittle customer contact

  €4,064gross per monthMedian salary

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• Employee in sterile processing

  Also: Employee in patient transport

  With on-the-job training

  In the sterile processing department of a clinic you clean, check, package and sterilize surgical instruments, and document every step.

  What you bring:

  You work precisely according to hygiene rules, handle disinfection and protective equipment carefully, and stay calm even with stressful tasks.

  How to get there:

  Hospitals and service providers give new employees on-the-job training (Einarbeitung) and usually send them to Fachkunde course I (Fachkundelehrgang I) of the professional society DGSV, with at least 120 teaching hours in blocks and placements in sterile processing. Work is often in shifts (Schichtdienst).*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Shift workLittle customer contact

  €3,342gross per monthMedian salary

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• Sexton (Küster)

  Also: Caretaker in church facilities

  With on-the-job training

  As a sexton you prepare services and ceremonies, care for the church and buildings, look after technology, and are the contact for the congregation and visitors.

  What you bring:

  You know church services, funerals and the processes in churches and cemeteries, and you pitch in with practical work.

  How to get there:

  Parishes give sextons on-the-job training (Einarbeitung) and often offer basic church courses lasting a few weeks. There are also part-time jobs, and weekend duty can be part of the job.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Often at weekendsFixed daytime hoursPhysically demandingLots of contact with people

  €3,250gross per monthMedian salary

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• Clerk in cemetery administration

  Also: Cemetery administrator

  With on-the-job training

  In the cemetery administration of a city or parish you allocate burial plots, calculate fees, plan burials, and advise relatives.

  What you bring:

  You know burial law, types of graves, deadlines and the processes between relatives, funeral directors and the cemetery.

  How to get there:

  Municipalities and church administrations give funeral directors on-the-job training (Einarbeitung) in bylaws and specialist procedures. Employers often let you take administrative course I (Angestelltenlehrgang I, called Verwaltungslehrgang I in some states) alongside the job. Jobs are advertised individually and are not available in every region.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Fixed daytime hoursPhysically lightLots of contact with peopleIn an office

  €3,822gross per monthMedian salary

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• Funeral speaker

  Also: Freelance speaker

  With on-the-job training

  As a funeral speaker you talk with relatives about the life of the deceased, write a personal speech, and give it at the funeral service.

  What you bring:

  You talk with mourners empathetically and know how to hold a funeral service with dignity.

  How to get there:

  A qualification is not required. Seminars for funeral speakers at training providers and associations take a few days to a few weeks. You can work self-employed, also starting on the side, and assignments come mainly through funeral companies.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Fixed daytime hoursPhysically lightLots of contact with people
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• Field sales representative for funeral supplies

  Also: Specialist adviser for gravestones

  With on-the-job training

  In field sales for manufacturers and wholesalers you advise funeral companies, present products, take orders, and look after your customers in the region.

  What you bring:

  You know coffins, urns, equipment and the processes in funeral homes and crematoria first-hand.

  How to get there:

  Manufacturers and wholesalers give funeral directors on-the-job training (Einarbeitung) with product training lasting a few weeks. A class B driving license is required for field sales.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Mostly no weekendsFixed daytime hoursPhysically lightLots of contact with people

  €4,456gross per monthMedian salary

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• Registered nurse (Pflegefachfrau/Pflegefachmann)

  Also: Registered nurse in a hospice

  With further training

  As a registered nurse you care for people in a hospital, nursing home, outpatient service or hospice, and you also support them at the end of life.

  What you bring:

  You meet dying, death and grief calmly and respectfully and support relatives in hard hours.

  How to get there:

  You do generalist nursing training (Ausbildung), which takes three years full-time and longer part-time, and you receive a training allowance. You usually need an intermediate school-leaving certificate (mittlerer Schulabschluss). For work in a hospice, further training in palliative care is often added later.*Regulated by law (Nursing Professions Act (PflBG) §§ 1, 6, 11).

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Often at weekendsShift workPhysically demandingLots of contact with people

  €4,421gross per monthMedian salary

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• Emergency medical technician (Rettungssanitäter)

  Also: Paramedic (Notfallsanitäter)

  With vocational training

  In the emergency medical service you treat emergency patients, drive ambulances and patient transport vehicles, and hand over patients at the clinic.

  What you bring:

  You are physically resilient, keep calm in exceptional situations, and are used to on-call duty around the clock.

  How to get there:

  You can get in through the training as emergency medical technician (Rettungssanitäter), which takes about three months under the rules of the states. For responsibility as the qualified specialist in an ambulance, there is the training as paramedic (Notfallsanitäter), which takes three years and is paid.*Regulated by law (Paramedic Act (NotSanG) §§ 1, 5; emergency medical technicians under the emergency medical service laws and training regulations of the states).

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Often at weekendsShift workPhysically demandingLots of contact with people

  €4,175gross per monthMedian salary

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Salary: median of all full-time employees in the job, gross per month excluding special payments, as of April 2025. Half earn more, half earn less. Source: Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis), table 62361-0030, license dl-de/by-2-0. Assigned to the jobs by quereinsteiger.de. No guarantee of accuracy.