I hope you don't think I am strange........

[Benner]

As some of you are aware, I am currently an assistant manager of a childrens home for kids with challenging behaviour and epilepsy.  I LOVE my job and it is what I have wanted to do for years, but as it is shift work, with a family this is very difficult.

So I am looking at going to another career area that has always interested me.   Working with the dead.

Problem is I have no idea where to start looking as I have no job roles to search for.  To be honest I would be quite happy to do anything, from working in a mortuary to cleaning them up but what I need are job titles so I can look into each role.

Anyone have any ideas??

Hope you don't all think I am a nutter!?!? 

Benner

[Grant Lamontagne]

I swear, there are more undertakers in my city than there are people!  I would check with your local funeral homes to see what they suggest- they'd be able to tell you what kind of training you need and where to get it.  If you find a good one, they may also either train or offer to subsidize your education because for some reason there aren't a whole lot of applicants for those kinds of jobs!

You may also want to consider contacting any local cosmetology/esthetic's schools as their graduates often end up working on corpses so they look "good" when on display.

As for thinking you are a nutter, well, if you weren't, you'd probably be on another forum!   

Def

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Well I'd try some of the funeral directors first to get a bit of an idea of what you need, but I will tell you this, I went for a job at a funeral directors once, I wore a nice suit, had my tattoo's well covered, my earing and other jewelry removed, and had my hair and goatie very neatly trimmed , I was told in no uncertain that I had to loose the beard, grow my hair out and get a driving licence before they'd even consider me a suitable candidate

At no point was I less than polite or well spoken, and I'm pretty sure I never said anything at all inflamatory, they just didn't like me

Dealing with the dead it seems is very much about appearence over substance, which is a little odd, I can understand it to a degree, but not to the degree that they were taking it too

Also I've been luck enough to know a few undertakers in my time (cracking guys with really twisted sences of humours) but it used to hit them very hard when they had to deal with dead kiddies (which would break me up too) and all of them at one time or other would be signed of with clinical depresion

Seriously mate, good on you if you wana do it, and I wish you every success, but weigh your options before you make the jump ship, cause I doubt it's for everyone

Ps not trying to sound patronising mate, so please don't think I am

[jock1]

Don't for one minute think you're odd I deal with a lot of undertakers and have to attend the Glasgow mortuary on a regular basis with sudden deaths etc.If you get no joy from your local undertakers try your local council jobs bulletins as most morgues tend to be council run
Best of Luck

[Papacat]

Dealing with the dead it seems is very much about appearence over substance, which is a little odd, I can understand it to a degree, but not to the degree that they were taking it too

Damn, the dead are picky.   

-Papacat.

[CQC-7]

Go to a funeral home and ask about a job.  A guy that I graduated high school with was taken in as an apprentice by the funeral home.  He makes great money now as an undertaker.

[Benner]

Cheers for the advice guys.

Another thing I have been keen on doing is training to become a locksmith.  Problem is, the poor apprentiship wages don't cover me and the family. 

[Grant Lamontagne]

Locksmithing is a good and bad business.  It's profitable and easy to run, but you need to be prepared to go at a moment's notice, day or night.  I don't know what's available in the UK, but here there are a number of decent correspondence courses in locksmithing available.  Beyond that, all you need is a small truck, some tools (drill, grinder etc) and some parts, and you can go into business for yourself.

What I don't care for in locksmithing is the liability involved, although I hear the lawyers over there aren't as bad as they can be here, so maybe you don;t have to worry about that so much. 

Def

[Splat]

As some of you are aware, I am currently an assistant manager of a childrens home for kids with challenging behaviour and epilepsy.  I LOVE my job and it is what I have wanted to do for years, but as it is shift work, with a family this is very difficult.
So I am looking at going to another career area that has always interested me.   Working with the dead.

Shift work is hard on your body and your family. I worked it for a few years, then switched to permanent overnights for about 4 years just to get off shift. That was almost just as hard. Your body never really adjusts, I don't care how long you've been on it. Back on topic..... I would call your local funeral parlor, take a job there as an assistant. You'll meet all types of people in the "dead line" whom you can maybe utilize to get another, more satisfying job. To me this is a less-alarming way of getting into the business. It sounds kinda hokey calling your local morgue and saying, "Hey, I like working with the dead so ya got any job openings there?" A certain Sam Kinneson routine pops into the head immediately.    Good luck whatever you decide.
--
Splat

[Benner]

As some of you are aware, I am currently an assistant manager of a childrens home for kids with challenging behaviour and epilepsy.  I LOVE my job and it is what I have wanted to do for years, but as it is shift work, with a family this is very difficult.
So I am looking at going to another career area that has always interested me.   Working with the dead.

Shift work is hard on your body and your family. I worked it for a few years, then switched to permanent overnights for about 4 years just to get off shift. That was almost just as hard. Your body never really adjusts, I don't care how long you've been on it. Back on topic..... I would call your local funeral parlor, take a job there as an assistant. You'll meet all types of people in the "dead line" whom you can maybe utilize to get another, more satisfying job. To me this is a less-alarming way of getting into the business. It sounds kinda hokey calling your local morgue and saying, "Hey, I like working with the dead so ya got any job openings there?" A certain Sam Kinneson routine pops into the head immediately.    Good luck whatever you decide.
--
Splat

Yeah I am thinking that is the way to go.  Just hope I could live on the wages they would offer. 

Thanks for all the thoughts.  Gives me a place to start anyways.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Yeah I am thinking that is the way to go.  Just hope I could live on the wages they would offer. 

Thanks for all the thoughts.  Gives me a place to start anyways.

I'm in the same boat, I can stop working part time, now my son's in school, but I still need to keep the weekends free, it's a nightmare jugling act isn't it trying to find a job that pays enough for you to have a life, but that can still be fitted around you family

[Benner]

Yeah I am thinking that is the way to go.  Just hope I could live on the wages they would offer. 

Thanks for all the thoughts.  Gives me a place to start anyways.

I'm in the same boat, I can stop working part time, now my son's in school, but I still need to keep the weekends free, it's a nightmare jugling act isn't it trying to find a job that pays enough for you to have a life, but that can still be fitted around you family

You can say that again.  It is a lot harder than I thought.  Shifts are fine whilst they are at home, but when they go to school it will be a nightmare.

Plus the wife is giving me grief about working shifts so I have no hope really. 

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Shifts are a killer and can be a relationship buster too, as your seamingly knackered all the time

I used to work/run petrol station's and I could never ever get used to shifts, and even after having left 18 months ago my body clock is still shot to pieces

Just a thought but most people in the 'dead body trade' will be on call to retreave the dead from nursing and old folks homes anyway, so you'd have to be prepared for that to happen anyway

[Benner]

Shifts are a killer and can be a relationship buster too, as your seamingly knackered all the time

I used to work/run petrol station's and I could never ever get used to shifts, and even after having left 18 months ago my body clock is still shot to pieces

Just a thought but most people in the 'dead body trade' will be on call to retreave the dead from nursing and old folks homes anyway, so you'd have to be prepared for that to happen anyway

Yeah I guess it depends what area I get into.

The problem is, what pays a good wage that is a 9-5 mon-fri these days?  Not a lot really.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

The answer so far is a big fat zero, and I desperatly don't want to work in retail any longer I really want to something for the enviroment now, but that does't require me going to colledge again

Anyway back on topic, so dead people

[Benner]

I don't mind training, but problem is training often means apprentiship and that means crap pay.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

I don't mind training, but problem is training often means apprentiship and that means crap pay.

I'm too old for a modern apprentiship

[Dunc]

I'm so not going to your house on halloween 
  Have you tried your local hospital , mortuary assistant ? Look on their website in vacancies , it may be worth a look .

Dunc

[Benner]

I don't mind training, but problem is training often means apprentiship and that means crap pay.

I'm too old for a modern apprentiship

Your never too old buddy. 

[Benner]

I'm so not going to your house on halloween 
  Have you tried your local hospital , mortuary assistant ? Look on their website in vacancies , it may be worth a look .

Dunc

Yeah I have been looking on nhs-direct but you don't see anything like that come up often.  I will keep an eye out though.

[665ae]

Back when I was in college, I had a few classes with a guy that wanted to be a Mortician.  I remember him telling me he had to take a lot of public speaking classes. 

I never realized that aside from body prep, a Mortician really has to have good speaking skills.  You deal a lot with living people.

If you don't want to deal with live people, I would guess being an assistant in a hospital morgue would be the next "best" thing.