What is a banker and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
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Bankers are also known or referred to as retail bankers. They interact on a daily basis with clients and assist them with services, including setting up savings accounts, moving money, and authorizing loans. They also give advice to customers on banking services and products. As a banker, your primary responsibility is to assist customers with their banking needs, specifically when paying to withdraw or deposit. In addition, you are to sign on new clients and also help them all through the onboarding process.

The supervision of transactions, management of client bank accounts are also part of your duties. Also, you are to authorize and evaluate loans and overdrafts. At times you could be required to perform clerical and administrative duties, including filing data entry, answering calls and correspondence, etc. You are also required to resolve queries and complaints of customers. Explaining and recommending the services and products of the bank to customers based on their needs is also your duty.

To be qualified for this role, you must hold at least a bachelor's degree in either finance, business, or accounting. Bankers earn an average salary of $67,757 per year.

ScoreBankerUS Average
Salary
3.5

Avg. Salary $44,463

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level
6.9

Growth Rate 10%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity
6.1
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.21%

Asian 12.32%

Black or African American 5.49%

Hispanic or Latino 11.40%

Unknown 4.12%

White 66.45%

Gender

female 53.71%

male 46.29%

Age - 43
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43
Stress Level
6.9

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level
6.9

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance
6.6

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Banker career paths

Key steps to become a banker

  1. Explore banker education requirements

    Most common banker degrees

    Bachelor's

    55.9 %

    Associate

    17.0 %

    High School Diploma

    14.1 %
  2. Start to develop specific banker skills

    Skills
    ascdesc
    Percentages
    ascdesc
    Taking Care15.23%
    Financial Services9.65%
    Securities6.11%
    Bank Products5.35%
    NMLS5.34%
  3. Complete relevant banker training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New bankers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a banker based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real banker resumes.
  4. Research banker duties and responsibilities

    • Manage a mortgage, banking and securities base lending pipeline for one of the top lending branches in the firm.
    • Manage a variety of internal initiatives including merchandising, cross-selling, customer retention programs and promotional campaigns.
    • Earn numerous reward certificates for level of sales and customer service through QA.
    • Qualify potential members for membership by opening checking accounts, savings accounts, IRAs, CDs, and processing loan applications.
  5. Prepare your banker resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your banker resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a banker resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose From 10+ Customizable Banker Resume templates

    Build a professional Banker resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Banker resume.
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  6. Apply for banker jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a banker job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How Did You Land Your First Banker Job

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Average banker salary

The average Banker salary in the United States is $44,463 per year or $21 per hour. Banker salaries range between $20,000 and $97,000 per year.

Average Banker Salary
$44,463 Yearly
$21.38 hourly

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How do bankers rate their job?

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Banker reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Dec 2023
Cons

Constant stress and fear when dealing with big transactions. Customers always complaining and getting paid by the hour

Pros

Talking to other people and never being still. Always on the move handeling money and everyday is something new


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Dec 2019
Pros

Serving people to meet their financial needs and planning Fininancial analysis of their funds with best utility Feeling motivated while meeting people from different demographic backgrounds

Cons

Don't like people with bad credit history


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2019
Pros

I enjoy engaging with clients, finding solutions to their financial needs, as well as account opening/personal lending.

Cons

I am not a sales/production driven individual. That aspect of the job- needing to worry about how many accounts I open or getting a certain amount booked in loans does not appeal to me. I enjoy the work, I like being challenged and busy, but I hate being a set of production scores.


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.