Here's what it's REALLY like to be an embalmer

Picsfive/shutterstock"For us, our job is not so much a job as it is a calling."

Preserving dead bodies for a living might seem weird or creepy or depressing. "But it's actually one of the most rewarding jobs in the world," says John "Jack" Mitchell IV, a sixth generation funeral director and embalmer.

After graduating from Lehigh University with a bachelor's in business management in 1993, Mitchell returned home to start serving his apprenticeship at his family's funeral home while attending the Mortuary Science program at Catonsville Community College outside of Baltimore.

"I attained an Associate in Arts degree in Mortuary Science there, completed my apprenticeship, passed the state and national board exams, and became a licensed mortician in 1995," he tells Business Insider. "In Maryland, the license was all-encompassing. Once you have a mortician's license, you are able to conduct funeral arrangements, direct funerals, and embalm."

Today Mitchell continues to run the family business, which opened in Baltimore in 1837, and knows a thing or two about the embalming process.

We were curious, so we recently asked Mitchell about a typical day at work, the best and worst parts of the job, and the biggest misconceptions. Here's what he said: