Cremation Is Eliminating Embalmer Jobs but Licensing Boards Have Not Created a Cremation Technician Career Path

The U.S. cremation rate has doubled in the past decade, surpassing 60% nationally and projected to reach 82% by 2045. This has structurally reduced demand for embalming -- the core skill that mortuary science education is built around -- but state licensing boards have not created a corresponding 'cremation technician' or 'cremation specialist' license with its own training pathway. Instead, crematory operators in most states need minimal certification (often just a short course), earning $2,000-$4,000 less annually than embalmers. Workers who would thrive in cremation-focused roles are forced to either get a full mortuary science degree (learning embalming they will rarely use) or accept a low-status, low-pay crematory position with no professional development ladder. The structural cause is that licensing boards were designed around the traditional burial model and have not adapted to the demographic reality that most Americans now choose cremation. Georgia's SB 239 (2026) is one of the first legislative attempts to address this by separating funeral directing from embalming, but no state has yet created a dedicated cremation career track with commensurate professional recognition.