Bank Teller Career Path: Education, Steps, and Timeline

What the Job Involves Day to Day

You start a shift by counting the cash in your drawer, then spend the day processing routine transactions: cashing checks, taking deposits, and collecting loan payments (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025). Across a typical week you also accept checks, cash and other payments, prepare specialized funds such as traveler's checks and money orders, exchange dollars for foreign currency, and record every transaction electronically (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025).

Other recurring duties include balancing currency, coin and checks in your drawer at the end of each shift, counting currency and coins for deposit or shipment, processing term deposits, retirement savings contributions, ATM transactions and night and mail deposits, ordering a cash supply, and receiving mortgage, loan and utility bill payments (O*NET OnLine, undated).

Most tellers work inside bank branches, standing or seated at a teller window behind a locked drawer, and most work full time, though part-time schedules are not uncommon (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025; CareerOneStop, undated).

Path to Becoming a Bank Teller

1. Finish high school or an equivalency. A high school diploma is the typical entry-level education, and most tellers hold one (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025; CareerOneStop, undated). Some teller training programs accept enrollment in a HiSET completion program instead (University of Central Missouri, undated).
2. Build basic math and keyboard skills. Program prerequisites are commonly basic-to-intermediate computer and typing skills plus basic math, and you need to be 18 or older (University of Central Missouri, undated). Practice counting cash by hand and by strap, and work on ten-key entry speed.
3. Decide whether you want pre-hire training. You can apply straight to branches, or complete a short program first. CareerOneStop's Local Training Finder lists teller-related options in Texas ranging from a certificate of 12 weeks to less than 1 year, up to a bachelor's degree usually taking 4 years (CareerOneStop, undated).
4. Consider the ABA Bank Teller Certificate. Delivered through AIB, it requires eight courses covering banking today, workplace conduct, ethics, relationship selling, customer service and teller basics, usually about 21 hours of study, with one year after enrolling to finish (bestaccreditedcolleges.org, undated). It is sold at a Member Price and a Non-Member Price and gives one year of access from purchase (American Bankers Association, undated).
5. Apply to branches and clear the background check. Banks may run a background check before hiring, so gather identification documents early (CareerOneStop, undated).
6. Complete on-the-job training. Expect roughly one month of supervised branch training on drawer balancing, deposit and withdrawal processing, check cashing and settlements before you run a window alone (CareerOneStop, undated; American Bankers Association, undated).
7. Log six months of experience, then pursue certification. Certified Bank Teller (CBT) eligibility through the ABA/Institute of Certified Bankers requires at least six months of work experience in the field, one professional reference, an ethics statement, an application, a fee and completion of the AIB Bank Teller Certificate program (bestaccreditedcolleges.org, undated).
8. Sit the CBT exam. It is 75 multiple-choice questions on banking fundamentals, teller duties and customer service, and requires a letter of recommendation from a senior manager (Learn.org, undated).

Timeline at a Glance

Requirements Checklist

• High school diploma, equivalency, or enrollment in a HiSET completion program if your training provider allows it (University of Central Missouri, undated).
• Age 18 or older, where the training program or employer sets that minimum (University of Central Missouri, undated).
• Basic-to-intermediate computer and typing skills and basic math skills, demonstrable in a skills test (University of Central Missouri, undated).
• Identification and employment documents ready for a pre-hire background check (CareerOneStop, undated).
• Completed on-the-job or pre-hire training in cash handling, deposit and withdrawal processing, check cashing and settlements (American Bankers Association, undated).
• For the Certified Bank Teller designation: at least six months of work experience in the field, logged and verifiable (bestaccreditedcolleges.org, undated).
• For the Certified Bank Teller designation: one professional reference or a letter of recommendation from a senior manager, a signed ethics statement, a submitted application and the fee (bestaccreditedcolleges.org, undated; Learn.org, undated).
• Completion of the AIB Bank Teller Certificate program, which meets the pre-certification education requirement for CBT through the Institute of Certified Bankers (American Bankers Association, 2009).

Education and Cost Comparison

Pay for tellers is usually an hourly wage, sometimes with branch or referral incentives. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published a median annual wage for tellers for May 2025, along with figures for the lowest 10 percent and highest 10 percent; check the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook and your state's labor market information site for current rates in your area (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025).

The practical contrast: the diploma-plus-training route puts you behind a window in roughly one month, while a bachelor's degree route takes about four years before you start (CareerOneStop, undated).