LITTLETON, Colo. -- If there are only two certainties in life, death and taxes, and a growing number of Coloradans are ready to pursue a career in caskets and cremation.

More and more students are signing up to learn the basics of embalming, applying makeup to the deceased and counseling people in mourning.

"Some days you are faced with the worst that life has to offer," said Brad Dunn, a student at Arapahoe Community College. "Funeral service requires that you have a strong emotional and psychological stability because you're interacting with families at the worst possible time in their lives, and they need your help."

At 27, Dunn is an accurate representative of the growing funeral service field.

"We're definitely seeing an increase in interest. We have more applications, but they're part-time. Students are transitioning into new careers but can't quit their full-time jobs," said Martha Thayer, Chairwoman of the Mortuary Science department at ACC. Last year, Thayer had 65 students taking her classes to prepare for careers in funeral homes.

For next fall, that number is already up to 85 students.

But it's not a record, yet.

"Second though to soon after Sept. 11, 2001. There was just a raised awareness in our society. People were asking, 'How are they going to deal with all of the dead down there' and just general questions," Thayer said. "Now people see it as more of an economy-proof field. But even funeral homes can be affected by the economy. You can have $10,000 funerals. You can have $2,000 funerals. So it's not a guarantee. But if you’re going to take death or taxes, we're at least trying to help people."

According to a recent survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, only 20 percent of current college graduates have a job waiting for them, a 30 percent drop from 2007.

"I'm very confident that this career path will prove to be successful for me because it's a goal that I've worked very hard towards. Not only will I be doing something that I love, I will be providing a very important service to the community. To me that is more rewarding than any kind of monetary gain," Dunn said.

Good thing.

Thayer said entry level jobs in the field pay between $28 and $40,000 per year with top-end positions around $65,000.

"First and foremost it really does have to be something that you enjoy. If someone says they're getting into it for the money, I'd call them in and talk to them so they can have a reality check," Thayer said.

Students pay an average of $ 12,000 for in-state tuition in her school's two year program, earning an Associate of Applied Science degree in Mortuary Science.

Thayer's is the only one in Colorado and one of 57 mortuary schools in the U.S., with very few west of the Mississippi.

It is accredited by the American Board of Funeral Service Education in St. Joseph, Mo.

The ABFSE is also seeing an increase in the field nationally.

"It may be a modest increase. People look at job opportunites and education is still the best place for training and or retraining," said Dr. Michael Smith, Executive Director of the ABFSE. "I think it's pretty stable. With the aging baby boomer population one would expect to see more deaths. I think that's counterbalanced by the economies of scale we're also seeing through consoloidation of funeral homes. So the net result is a realtively stable professional outlook."

Statistics from the ABSFE show a strong, stable growth rate of 60 percent with 35 accredited institutions in 1979 to 56 in 2005.

"It's been an interest of mine since high school to be in a medical-type field but doctors and nurses, that wasn't for me. And the more I get to know it, the more I like it," said Emma Perry, 24. "I work in a funeral home now. It's just really natural helping people and a natural part of life and for me it's very natural to fall into that role."