OCCUPATION: VAULT TELLER

Name: Sonja Hanna

Company: Downey Savings & Loan

Thumbs up: “I like working with people and the association with my co-workers. I like the environment around here--there’s never a dull moment. And Downey takes an interest in its employees. They have training classes, and they help you do your job. They also promote from within.”

Thumbs down: “It can be stressful balancing all that money--there’s so much to count. And it’s stressful when the computers go down.”

Next step: “I’d like to be a supervisor, but to get there my next step would be to become a new accounts representative.”

Advice: “Working in a bank means you have to like working with the public, and you have to have patience.”

Salary range: In Orange County, $5.25 to $10.47 hourly.

Fringe benefits: Paid vacation, sick leave, medical, dental and vision insurance and life insurance.

Hours: Most tellers work full time, 40 hours per week, though many work part time, 22 hours per week; depending on the institution, there could be some weekend work.

Educational and training requirements: Must have a high school degree or equivalent and be bondable. Most training is on the job.

Size of work force: In Orange County, 6,540 people, or 0.5% of the labor force, work as tellers.

Expected demand: Stable. As the banking industry continues to consolidate, tellers can expect the market to become more competitive.

Job description: Line tellers receive and pay out money, keep records and perform the necessary paperwork involved in banking and other financial transactions; vault tellers order cash for the branch, ship out coins, provide customer service for merchants and handle the branch’s cash flow.

Major employing industries: Banks, savings and loans and credit unions.

For more information: Call or visit the job service window at any office of the state Employment Development Department. In Orange County, the offices are at 900 E. Pacifico Ave. in Anaheim (714) 978-7421; 233 E. Commonwealth Ave., in Fullerton (714) 680-7800, and 1001 S. Grand Ave. in Santa Ana (714) 558-4294.