Business and Financial Operations · Holland code ICE

Coroners

Direct activities such as autopsies, pathological and toxicological analyses, and inquests relating to the investigation of deaths occurring within a legal jurisdiction to determine cause of death or to fix responsibility for accidental, violent, or unexplained deaths.

Also called: Autopsy Facilities Manager, Coroner, MDI (Medicolegal Death Investigator), Medical Examiner, County Coroner, Death Investigator, Forensic Pathologist, Medical Legal Death Investigator.

O*NET 13-1041.06

At a glance

US median annual pay: $80,730; Middle half earn $61,280 to $109,010. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Bachelor's Degree; 35% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 3 of 5; Medium preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +3% · As fast as average; 418,000 jobs in 2024, projected 430,300. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Compliance officers".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Complete death certificates, including the assignment of cause and manner of death.
Perform medicolegal examinations and autopsies, conducting preliminary examinations of the body to identify victims, locate signs of trauma, and identify factors that would indicate time of death.
Interview persons present at death scenes to obtain information useful in determining the manner of death.
Observe and record the positions and conditions of bodies and related evidence.
Provide information concerning the circumstances of death to relatives of the deceased.
Remove or supervise removal of bodies from death scenes, using the proper equipment and supplies, and arrange for transportation to morgues.
Inquire into the cause, manner, and circumstances of human deaths and establish the identities of deceased persons.
Observe, record, and preserve any objects or personal property related to deaths, including objects such as medication containers and suicide notes.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Speaking4.1 / 5
Critical Thinking4.1 / 5
Reading Comprehension4.0 / 5
Active Listening3.9 / 5
Writing3.6 / 5
Active Learning3.4 / 5

Knowledge areas

English Language4.6 / 5
Medicine and Dentistry4.5 / 5
Customer and Personal Service4.4 / 5
Law and Government4.2 / 5
Administration and Management3.9 / 5
Biology3.9 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic51
Investigative66
Artistic8
Social35
Enterprising52
Conventional64

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

specialised doctor · DE Facharzt/Fachärztin · FR médecin spécialiste
prosecutor · DE Staatsanwalt/Staatsanwältin · FR procureur/procureure
judge · DE Richter/Richterin · FR juge
coroner · DE Gerichtsmediziner/Gerichtsmedizinerin · FR médecin légiste
criminologist · DE Kriminologe/Kriminologin · FR criminologue
polygraph examiner · DE Polygrafiesachverständiger/Polygrafiesachverständige · FR spécialiste du détecteur de mensonges

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Solicitors and lawyers (2412)216,100 employed
Clinical psychologists (2225)23,900 employed
Other psychologists (2226)39,000 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +0.70. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (13-1041).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test