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Business & Finance

Tellers

Receive and pay out money. Keep records of money and negotiable instruments involved in a financial institution's various transactions.

Median salary (BLS)

$43,030

10th–90th percentile (BLS)

$34k – $50k

Job outlook

No separate BLS projection for this specific role

AI exposure

Plan a path to Tellers

Education

Typical entry: No degree required

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How to qualify

Estimate

Cost to qualify

$500–$3,150

Time to qualify

1 yr

Renewal

  1. 1

    High school diploma or GED

    Course

    Expected by most employers; if you need the GED, test fees run $0–$150 depending on the state.

    $0–$150 · 3 months · varies by state source

  2. 2

    On-the-job training

    Experience

    Employer-provided and typically paid — days to a few months for most no-degree roles.

    Cost varies · 3 months source

  3. 3

    Industry certification (optional for many roles)

    Certification

    Role-dependent — e.g. CPA, Series 7/65, PMP, SHRM. Not always required, but often expected for advancement.

    $500–$3,000 · 6 months source

Estimated typical U.S. route for "Tellers" — built from BLS education requirements and College Board 2024–25 average published prices (public, in-state tuition + fees + books). Not yet verified against a specific state's licensing rules — confirm with your state licensing board or program.

Typical progression

  1. Junior Tellers

    Entry / Junior

    $34,360

    ~2 yrs to advance

  2. Tellers

    Established

    $43,030

    ~3 yrs to advance

  3. Senior Tellers

    Senior

    $46,355

Key skills

A typical day

  • Balance currency, coin, and checks in cash drawers at ends of shifts and calculate daily transactions, using computers, calculators, or adding machines.
  • Receive checks and cash for deposit, verify amounts, and check accuracy of deposit slips.
  • Monitor bank vaults to ensure cash balances are correct.
  • Cash checks and pay out money after verifying that signatures are correct, that written and numerical amounts agree, and that accounts have sufficient funds.
  • Count currency, coins, and checks received, by hand or using currency-counting machine, to prepare them for deposit or shipment to branch banks or the Federal Reserve Bank.

Fields of study

Any field

Top colleges for Business & Finance

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Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.