Nearly 200,000 veterans leave active duty each year, coming face to face with a civilian job market in their search for a second career. Only one in four U.S. veterans have a job lined up after leaving the armed forces, according to the Pew Research Center. But one organization may have the right, if unexpected, career fit: the funeral service industry.
Launched by the Funeral Service Foundation and the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association, Journey to Serve is an organization that
“I went from serving globally to serving locally,” says Nie. “There are many parallels between serving the military and serving families who lost loved ones. A lot of things that we are taught in the military — like tradition, honor and respect — are the main ideals in funeral service.”
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Nie’s journey into the funeral service industry began long before he entered the Air Force. He grew up above his family’s funeral home in Ann Arbor and worked with his parents in high school. After nine years of service in the Air Force, Nie and his wife decided to continue his family’s business. Nie is now on the board of directors as treasurer for the National Funeral Directors Association (the Funeral Service Foundation is the charitable affiliate association of the NFDA), and works to engage and recruit veterans in his own practice.
While it wasn’t the path he initially imagined for himself, Nie found that the world of funeral service work and the military share many parallels. From the mentally taxing subject matter to the physically taxing hours, funeral service work is challenging — but in ways veterans are prepared to handle, explains Nie.
“Growing up in a funeral home meant my parents weren’t there for birthdays or holidays because we were serving a family,” he says. “I used to kind of resent that as a child, but then after being stationed overseas I realized I was missing those events, too, because of service to my country.”
The similarities are reflected in the work itself. Nie notes that his team looks at each family they serve as a mission, where it takes teamwork, communication and clear objectives to successfully complete. Whether it's ensuring the casket is safely moved from the funeral home to the church service and then to the cemetery, or taking into account that familial requests are met with care, funeral service professionals have a mountain of logistics to juggle — a familiar headspace for any veteran, says Nie.
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“When we have concluded with a family in a cemetery and everything has gone according to plan, you know you’ve accomplished the mission,” he says. “You find great satisfaction in that because that is something that has been instilled in us from day one of basic training: work together and surpass the obstacles.”
That satisfaction is only magnified when Nie can help serve a fellow veteran's family and give them their last respects. “It’s one of the greatest honors I have as a veteran,” says Nie.
Working in the funeral business with fellow veterans also means employees have access to an environment where their co-workers already have a personal understanding of mental health struggles and experiences civilians may only be able to sympathize with.
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“This can be a brotherhood or sisterhood where you can discuss and share things, and people just understand what you’re going through,” says Nie. “Although I may never have been stationed with that individual, we have shared experiences that can help in the healing process and create a safe environment.”
If veterans are interested in joining Journey to Serve and entering the funeral services industry, their website spotlights available jobs and how a particular military position might translate to funeral service work. If a military member wants to move to start their new career, Nie advises that they use their final Permanent Change of Station allowance to help them foot the bill. If they are still on duty, but stationed in the U.S., Nie encourages military members to connect with their local funeral home and see if they would be able to get an introduction to what funeral services entail.
“Most of the people that I've met in [military] service do it because they have a service heart,” says Nie. “And the training and experience I got in the service just so happen to enable me to successfully serve families in our community. You sacrifice a lot, but you get great fulfillment from it.”
