I haven't gone home sad a single day, and I'm 'wildly happy' earning $87,000 a year as a 33-year-old mortician who doesn't fear death.

Victor M. Sweeney witnessed an embalming for the first time when he was 18 years old, which was for an 18-year-old woman who died in a car crash before her high school graduation.

He had encountered deceased individuals prior, but this marked his initial "direct interaction with someone of the same age," he disclosed to CNBC Make It. "It was quite demanding."

As an assistant in a funeral home, Sweeney's job involved "dusting caskets and carrying flowers," he recalls.

Sweeney, already committed to a career in the funeral industry, was tasked by his boss to observe the embalming process. Following the experience, his parents, both psychologists, inquired if he required counseling.

"What I discovered then and now is that I was in a position to help the family grieve, which gave me relief and comfort, allowing me not to burden my friends and family with work-related issues."

Sweeney, a 33-year-old licensed funeral director and mortician in Warren, Minnesota, earns just over $87,000 per year. Let's explore his job responsibilities and why he's content with his profession.

Becoming a funeral director

Sweeney, who was born and raised in Detroit in a Catholic household, had to confront death from an early age.

Sweeney's family visited his older sister's grave regularly, and he recalls fighting with his two younger brothers about who would clean the headstone. At the age of 3, he experienced a traumatic event when he found his best friend, also 3, dead in bed.

Sweeney's early exposure to death made it less of a taboo topic in his household, and he now claims to not fear death, coming from a "death-positive" family.

Sweeney, as a teenager, contemplated pursuing a career in the priesthood, similar to his godfather, but eventually determined that he lacked the necessary disposition for the role.

""As you turn inward, you gain insight into yourself — I realized that I'm quite selfish and I relish taking credit for accomplishments," he admits."

In high school, after his family relocated to Bismarck, North Dakota, Sweeney was profoundly affected by "The Undertaking" by Thomas Lynch, a collection of essays on life, death, and the role of a small-town funeral director. As a result, he reached out to the father of a classmate, a mortician, and secured employment at a local funeral home. He continued to work there until he graduated in 2009.

After studying pre-mortuary science at North Dakota State University, he pursued a bachelor's in funeral service and mortuary science at the University of Minnesota, graduating in 2013.

Working as a funeral director in a small town

In 2014, Sweeney took up a position as funeral director at the DuBore Funeral Home in Warren, Minnesota, a small town of 1,600 people located 70 miles south of the Canadian border.

Since 2015, he has resided there and purchased a home for $85,000, where he and his spouse are nurturing their four offspring.

In Minnesota, it's common for funeral directors to be licensed morticians and manage funeral planning, paperwork, and body preparation.

As a funeral director in a small town, you often become acquainted with the families of the deceased, which can be emotionally challenging.

Balancing the emotions of the grieving families is a crucial aspect of the job.

"According to Sweeney, the most successful funeral directors strike a balance between two extremes: those who are overly morbid and those who are overly empathetic."

He remarks, "You're more than just a local mortician. I've buried children and then see the parents around town. Everyone is a real person to each other, and it's not just business, which is quite beautiful."

Sweeney has opted for a lower-paying job at a small-town funeral home despite receiving higher-paying job offers from corporate funeral homes in larger cities, including one that offered him over $200,000 annually. The average pay for a funeral director is approximately $100,000, according to the Economic Research Institute.

"I want to be here because my only boss is a funeral director who does the same job as me, so I don't have to answer to someone who doesn't understand my work."

He values family-run businesses because they allow him to make decisions that align with his values, such as offering discounts or helping families in need. He believes that corporate rules do not prevent charitable actions.

Beyond his role as a funeral director, Sweeney takes pride in restoring unmarked graves in the town's Catholic cemetery, meticulously hand-carving headstones and inscribing their names in Latin.

""Giving back to previous generations is a fulfilling way to express gratitude," he remarks."

On the job

Sweeney's role commences immediately upon the phone call: "We respond to phone calls 24/7, every funeral home across the country does."

Sweeney, even if the call comes in the dead of night, dresses, grabs his equipment and heads to the place of death. He arrives with a cot, prepared to transfer the body. "Frequently, the family wants to have a hands-on role in moving their loved one, so I guide them through the process," he says.

Embalming is the process of sanitizing and preserving the body after death, which is done to make it presentable for the funeral. This prevents decomposition.

Sweeney will suture the wound and then use mortuary wax and cosmetics to smooth it over if the body has suffered an injury.

Sweeney aims to give families peace by not revealing the location of the bodies he returns to them, which have been injured.

The body is dressed in family-provided clothes and then placed in a casket to appear at rest. However, it's important to avoid the appearance of "stargazing" or being stiff.

Sweeney prepares the church or funeral site for the service, arranging the flowers and setting up the body. Some relatives gather around the casket, while others prefer to stay away from the body.

After the service, Sweeney transports the casket or urn to the cemetery for interment.

As a funeral director, Sweeney stresses the significance of enabling families to contribute significantly during the funeral. He contends that activities such as carrying a casket or circulating the urn around at the gravesite can have a profound effect.

He states that such actions greatly facilitate the healing process.

Why Sweeney writes his own obituary every year

Sweeney has meticulously planned his own funeral and has detailed instructions for it stored in a filing cabinet, alongside the plans he keeps for his clients.

"It could be you before you've buried so many people your age," he remarks.

He rewrites his obituary every August, and each year it becomes shorter. "It's not that I'm doing less, but that there are fewer and fewer things that truly, truly matter," he says, such as his family and service to others.

Through writing about his death annually, Sweeney reinforces his satisfaction with the decisions he has made.

"He declares, 'I am ecstatically content. My spouse adores me, my offspring eagerly anticipate my arrival each day, and I cherish my supervisor. I have never felt the need to pursue a different path, and that's all a man could desire,'" he says.

"Since I arrived, I haven't gone home feeling sad on any day."

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