How To Become A Head Teller: What It Is and Career Path

What is a head teller and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The head teller oversees a teller line that processes a variety of financial transactions. These include check cashing, withdrawals, deposits, and loan payments. He/She helps tellers with more complex tasks, approves exception transactions, backs up tellers, and performs teller duties when needed.

He is responsible for vault and the auditing, likewise reporting and balancing of cash draw. Also, he/she manages the branch currency levels, tracks currency shipments and deliveries. Additionally, he/she manages the schedule and ensures tellers are readily available.

A head teller should have a minimum of a bachelor's degree in finance or a relative field and must have at least three years of relevant work experience. He/She must also be observant and patient. He/She must have communication, interpersonal, and maths skills. Head tellers earn an average gross salary of $36,189 annually. This ranges from $29,000 to $45,000.

ScoreHead TellerUS Average

Salary

3.7

Avg. Salary $46,820

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.5

Growth rate -12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.61%

Asian 7.60%

Black or African American 10.64%

Hispanic or Latino 17.98%

Unknown 3.49%

White 59.68%

Gender

female 83.09%

male 16.91%

Age - 36

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 - 36

Stress level

8.5

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.9

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

10.0

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a head teller

Explore head teller education requirements

Most common head teller degrees

Bachelor's

38.0 %

Associate

25.6 %

High School Diploma

25.4 %

Start to develop specific head teller skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	8.69%
HR	7.62%
Process Improvement	7.42%
Conflict Resolution	7.01%
Operational Standards	5.78%

Complete relevant head teller training and internships

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

Gain additional head teller certifications

Head teller certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific head teller certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for head tellers include Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and International Accredited Business Accountant (IABA).

More About Certifications

Research head teller duties and responsibilities

Conduct area quarterly and monthly audits of cash drawers, dual vaults, currency dispensers, ATM and all branch logs.
Pack and process currency for financial institutions and ATM requisitions.
Identify suitable opportunities to cross-sell products or services offer to customers.
Provide customers with superior service while performing transactions and maximizing cross-sell opportunities.

Prepare your head teller resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable head teller resume templates

Build a professional head teller 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 head teller resume.