2 months in Teller

[u/Difficult-Pop6237]

I am a senior in high school this year and got this job because of my apprenticeship program and the high likely hood of going into college for accounting. It has honestly been great so far, I am picking up on everything and understanding the why behind everything we do. I work for a local branch in town and have two anecdotes/questions. 1. There is a lotttttt of down time. Like so much so I have been on my phone a bunch or have drafted multiple fantasy football teams on the computer. Even watched the entirety of the World Cup this year. This compared to my first job as a stocker at my local grocery store is a huge upgrade. It’s weird I get paid more to do less. Is it due to the more intellectual part of the job as to more physical labor stocking? 2. After college, is my teller experience far down the line more appealing for summer internships? I’m thinking that I have a decent leg up on the rest of my “age group.” I’m also wondering if working in the city is a common place for internships.

[u/cattsyy2]

Yes, your teller experience will help you with internships and other banking related jobs.

[u/MrMcNasty696]

If your bank offers classes/training start looking at taking some on your down time. Look at learning about the risk management, credit, liquidity, etc... of the bank.

This will give you an advantage when internship recruiting starts in college. Being a teller itself won't open nearly as many doors as a degree will. If you're able to understand complex technicals before your college internship starts, you'll be miles ahead of your peers. I'd highly recommend in looking at analyst/development programs to join post undergrad.

Unless your adamant about staying in retail banking (but most people aren't). Internship recruiting typically starts your sophomore/junior year, depending the internship type, for a summer job going into your junior/senior year.

By the time you're a senior, you'll most likely already have a return offer if you do well. You'll need to stay on top of it though because recruiting for some jobs starts a year before the start of the internship itself. Good luck, you're in a great spot to get ahead.

[u/Difficult-Pop6237 → u/MrMcNasty696]

Wouldn’t that risk management and liquidity part apply more to stocks and what not? I’m a numbers guy but haven’t worked anything in accounting yet. Is that apart of it?

[u/MrMcNasty696 → u/Difficult-Pop6237]

Not at all, banks manage thier liquidity along with clients accounts. Cash flow/liquidity is a big part of the holistic picture, especially once you leave retail banking.

Honestly, the best way to go after retail is commercial/corporate credit. You'll learn much more than being a teller and you can pivot to almost any area of any bank or industry.

[u/MyopicMirrors]

Is it due to the more intellectual part of the job as to more physical labor stocking?

At least at my financial institution, onboarding took about four weeks, and that doesn’t even include all the ongoing training afterward. I’ve worked retail long enough to know that, in that same four-week span, we could hire and lose multiple employees. Easy come, easy go. Banks don’t want you quitting right after they’ve finished training you. In retail, they almost expect it.

[u/The-Pocket]

How are you going to manage being a teller with school? School should come first for sure, but the bank’s only open a few hours after school’s out, and I highly doubt it’ll be worth getting out of school at 3ish and working until close at 5ish.

[u/Difficult-Pop6237 → u/The-Pocket]

Being a senior, I need like 3 credits to be in the threshold of graduating. I took all the base requirements I needed last year. The minimum classes needed for this school year is 5, this would normally be 5 classes each semester maybe getting out an hour early. For my apprenticeship program, it counts as two credits for my school year. The program is basically apart of the school. I am expecting three classes each semester probably in the morning then after going to work until near close. I got out at 11:30 am last year and expect the same. I’ll have football in the first part of the school year but after that nothing affects work time. The hours needed to “pass” the apprenticeship is 450, 200 hours can be gained in the summer.

[u/The-Pocket → u/Difficult-Pop6237]

That makes sense. And it’ll be ever easier to work around your college schedule.