Tellers held about 472,100 jobs in 2018. The largest employers of tellers were as follows:
| Credit intermediation and related activities | 97% |
| Management of companies and enterprises | 1 |
The depository credit intermediation industry includes commercial bank branches, where tellers are primarily employed.
Work Schedules
Most tellers work full time.
Most tellers have a high school diploma and receive about 1 month of on-the-job training. Some banks do background checks before hiring a new teller.
Education
Tellers usually need a high school diploma or equivalent. Some tellers may take some college courses, but a degree is rarely required for a job applicant to be hired.
Training
New tellers usually receive brief on-the-job training, typically lasting about 1 month. Normally, a head teller or another experienced teller trains them. During this training, tellers learn how to balance cash drawers and verify signatures. They also learn the computer software that their bank uses and the financial products and services the bank offers.
Advancement
Experienced tellers can advance within their bank. They can become head tellers or move to other supervisory positions. Some tellers can advance to other occupations, such as loan officer. They can also move to sales positions.
Tellers typically have an interest in the Persuading and Organizing interest areas, according to the Holland Code framework. The Persuading interest area indicates a focus on influencing, motivating, and selling to other people. The Organizing interest area indicates a focus on working with information and processes to keep things arranged in orderly systems.
If you are not sure whether you have a Persuading or Organizing interest which might fit with a career as a teller, you can take a career test to measure your interests.
Tellers should also possess the following specific qualities:
Customer-service skills. Tellers spend their day interacting with bank customers. They must be friendly, helpful, and patient. They must be able to understand customer needs and explain service options to their customers.
Detail oriented. Tellers must be sure not to make errors when dealing with customers’ money.
Math skills. Because they count and handle large amounts of money, tellers must be good at arithmetic.
The median annual wage for tellers was $31,230 in May 2019. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $23,330, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $40,230.
In May 2019, the median annual wages for tellers in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:
| Management of companies and enterprises | $32,280 |
| Credit intermediation and related activities | 31,190 |
Most tellers work full time.
Employment of tellers is projected to decline 12 percent from 2018 to 2028.
Historically, job growth for tellers was driven by the expansion of bank branches, where most tellers work. However, the number of bank branches has been in decline due to technological change. The rise of online and mobile banking allows customers to handle many transactions traditionally performed by tellers, such as depositing checks. As more people use these tools, fewer bank customers will visit the teller window. This will result in decreased demand for tellers.
In addition, automation is expected to lead to fewer tellers per bank branch. Some banks are developing video kiosks that allow customers to interact with tellers through webcams at ATMs. This will allow tellers to service a greater number of customers from one location, reducing the number of tellers needed for each bank.
“Enhanced ATMs” are another emerging form of automation technology. These machines are expected to perform an increasing range of customer service and clerical tasks currently done by tellers, such as issuing debit cards or detecting counterfeit currency. This will allow for far greater productivity for tellers, as they will be left with only the most complex customer service tasks. This also will result in fewer tellers employed per bank branch.
Job Prospects
Despite the projected employment decline, tellers will still find some job openings due to the need to replace workers who leave this large occupation.