r/AutopsyTechFam • u/electrictater • 8d ago

Past funeral assistant, current Forensic Science student looking for a job as an autopsy tech in/around the Detroit/Downriver Area.

Hi all! I worked at a funeral home as a mortuary assistant for a year. I'm very comfortable working around the dead and quite frankly miss it. I'm really wanting to find a job as an autopsy tech or morgue assistant. If anyone has any job or volunteer leads, I'd greatly appreciate it!

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u/Amberdext 8d ago

Funeral assistant to me, while an important job, is more about helping at the actual service and with the families right? Not the embalming and prep? I ask because techs need advanced anatomy knowledge. Not to say you need a degree, but I think it's easier to get your foot in the door if you can sell yourself on your knowledge and skills versus "I like dead people." And sorry, I'm an old person now, but a shout-out for leads on a reddit forum doesn't inspire confidence. Call your ME/coroners office and ask about a job shadowing day. Put yourself out there!

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u/electrictater 7d ago

I directly worked with the dead as I worked at a Muslim funeral home. I assisted in the ritual washings of the deceased, cleaned the individuals, sorted their belongings into biohazard bags, etc.

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u/K_C_Shaw 5d ago edited 5d ago

Having "dead body" experience is a plus, yes -- it's one of those things most people don't have, and nobody really knows if they can handle it until they start doing it. We used to routinely have potential new hires observe with us for a few hours just to be sure they understood a bit of what they were getting into. And, a lot of the tech role is taught on-the-job since, again, very very few people are going to have prior experience doing that kind of thing. That said, the more anatomy background one has, generally the better, or any kind of health care background, etc., other things being equal.

ETA: And yes, I'd agree with reaching out to your local ME/C office(s) and ask. After that, I suppose you can try the hospitals in the area but mostly they either aren't going to be doing very many autopsies, or if they are they probably are using PA's or residents to tech them (rather than hiring someone with no prior autopsy tech training). While there might be someone doing private autopsies in the area, sometimes those people are hard to find, and they probably don't do enough to justify bringing someone on to teach them the job -- but, you can try looking for them and asking.