How To Become A Counter Clerk: What It Is and Career Path

What is a counter clerk and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Do you want to help form someone's first opinion of a business or establishment? If you have a friendly disposition that people consider inviting, then consider becoming a counter clerk. Being a counter is a great entry-level position that many young people use as an introduction to the work environment.

Counter clerks are often the first person that a customer encounters upon entering a business. Although their main duty is checking out items for customers, they also greet customers, answer their questions, and recommend products and services. Some other duties they handle include completing customer orders, processing payments, and ensuring customer satisfaction. Counter clerks may also be asked to package items, change receipt paper as needed, count money in the cash drawers, and resolve amount discrepancies.

There are no formal education requirements for counter clerks, and most training is done on the job. Counter clerks should have great customer service, numeracy, and recordkeeping skills. A good memory is also helpful, as these clerks are also expected to demonstrate strong product knowledge.

ScoreCounter ClerkUS Average

Salary

2.4

Avg. Salary $30,268

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.7

Growth rate -10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.78%

Asian 5.64%

Black or African American 10.08%

Hispanic or Latino 19.04%

Unknown 7.03%

White 57.42%

Gender

female 68.66%

male 31.34%

Age - 42

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 - 42

Stress level

7.7

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.4

Complexity level is basic

7 - challenging

Work life balance

10.0

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a counter clerk

Explore counter clerk education requirements

Most common counter clerk degrees

High School Diploma

40.1 %

Bachelor's

23.2 %

Associate

21.5 %

Start to develop specific counter clerk skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	21.70%
Cleanliness	9.45%
Basic Math	9.02%
Cash Handling	8.83%
Sales Floor	6.89%

Complete relevant counter clerk training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New counter clerks 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 counter clerk based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real counter clerk resumes.

Research counter clerk duties and responsibilities

Conduct routine inspections and manage mechanics payroll data utilizing ADP.
Record all sales transactions on POS and accurately process cash, and credit card transactions.
Preform end of day close out, including POS, cash count and inventory management.
Maintain shop cleanliness and inventory levels.

Prepare your counter clerk resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your counter clerk 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 counter clerk resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable counter clerk resume templates

Build a professional counter clerk 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 counter clerk resume.