Banking Career Salary

Education for Banking Careers

• Lower-level clerical and teller positions at banks usually require only a high school diploma, although some tellers do have college degrees. A bachelor's degree is pretty much a prerequisite for a supervisory or management job in banking. Most loan officers and financial managers have at least an undergraduate degree in business, accounting or finance, and many have a Master of Business Administration.
  
  

Bank Teller Salaries

• Bank tellers are among the lowest-paid bank employees with a median annual salary of $23,610 as of May 2008, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Senior bank tellers in some areas can earn up to $35,000. Tellers in Alaska are paid the highest with a median annual salary of $29,520. According to PayScale, the city of Atlanta offers the highest median annual salaries for bank tellers, ranging from $29,958 to $34,406.
  
  

Loan Officer Salaries

• According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, loan officers earned a a median annual salary of $54,720 in 2008. Experienced and successful loan officers can earn more than $70,000 annual compensation. Note that most loan officers are paid at least in part by commission on the loans they originate, so the overall macroeconomic conditions and the ability to close loans does affect their income.
  
  

Financial Manager Salaries

• According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual median salary for financial managers is $99,330 as of May 2008. Financial managers working at banks tend to be on the lower end of the career pay scale with a median annual income of $77,280 (financial managers in the securities industry had the highest income at $134,940). According to PayScale, financial managers with 10 to 19 years of experience earn a median annual salary range of $54,296 to $96,425.
  
  

Employment Prospects for Banking Careers

• The employment prospects for the banking industry are average to below average due to ongoing and expected future mergers as well as the growing popularity of web banking. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that employment in the banking industry will grow by 8 percent between 2008 and 2018.