Term Project Paper

For my project I decided to research the job of a bank or branch manager. I am

currently working at a bank so I have recently become interested to see what it would

be like to move up in my company and to become a manager. I have been debating

what I would like to study and what career I would like to pursue and this was one of the

options that I have been considering. This project has really opened my eyes to what it

would realistically be like to be a manager. It has been good for me to see the pros and

cons, and the reality of what this job would entail. I have learned a lot about the qualities

I have that would be used and the qualities that I would need to acquire. I have learned

just how hard of a job it would be and how much bank and branch managers actually do

for the companies.

When I researched what a branch manager was I found this definition. “A branch

manager is a financial professional in charge of a specific banking location. Banks often

have multiple locations or sites called branches. A branch manager oversees the daily

operations within one location. Within the branch, they supervise a banking team and

manage the daily operations.” (How To Become a Branch Manager in a Bank) I really

liked this definition because it very simply explains what a manager is and the overview

of what they do. However there is a lot of detail that goes into a bank or branch

manager’s job. They have many responsibilities, but some of the big ones are that they

are in charge of meetings, monitor progress, resolve problems, and oversee the

operations of the bank or branch. (How to Become a Bank Branch Manager: Education

and Career Roadmap) The managers are the ones that keep track of the success of the

branch. This is a large job and these are only some of their major duties. My manager
also conducts meetings, reviews applications for loans and many other things behind

the scenes. I have learned that a bank manager has a lot of responsibilities that are not

necessarily seen. They also have to be good at things like “People management skills,

Skills for management and operations at the retail level, Excellent communication skills,

Strong negotiation skills, Strong business acumen” (How to Become a Bank Branch

Manager: Education and Career Roadmap) These managers have to have many

specific skills and if they don’t they have to acquire them in order to succeed in their

work.

While there are many skills that these bank managers need there is also a lot of

preparation that needs to go into being a manager. They need to get a Bachelor's

degree in something like accounting, finance, or business administration. Then they will

need at least 5 years of experience on the job. While getting this experience some of

the skills that they will need to gain are things like customer service and communication

skills so that they can interact with angry customers or stubborn employees. They would

also need decision making and time management skills to make their branch as

effective as possible. They will need knowledge of any regulations that would involve

their company so that they make sure they are doing everything legally correct. There is

a lot of preparation and work that goes into this job not only when you have it, but there

is also a lot that they need to do to prepare themselfs to get the job and successfully

navigate the challenges that arise with it.

As for the outlook of this job there are many opportunities for this kind of job. I

have found that the bank manager market is expected to increase by 18.7% between

the years of 2016 and 2026. (The job market for bank managers in the United States)
This is an encouraging statistic because it shows that still for the next four years the

opportunities for bank managers is supposed to be growing. There are currently

580,400 bank managers in the United States and 5,800 of them are in Utah. Along with

this I know that my company in particular moves people up the chain very quickly. I

have seen that they are very invested in the employees that are invested in them. I have

felt that it would be quite easy to work my way up there and become a manager fairly

quickly. There are also many different departments and the company is quite large so it

would not be hard to become a manager over one of those branches or the branch that

I am currently a part of. The market for bank managers is best in the states like

California and New York because they are so heavily populated and they have so many

job opportunities but the market is currently good anywhere in the United States.

This job is not only a thriving market but it is also a good opportunity for good

pay. The average pay for bank or branch managers is usually around $131,710.

(Financial Managers). This salary is about $63.32 per hour and is a very good pay. In

my current job I help people apply for loans and I have learned a lot about personal

finance over the two years that I have been working there. I have come to find that that

annual salary is a very good salary. So while this job may be hard and require a lot of

work it also has a great reward with the opportunity for a good salary. This is also just

the average pay so there are many people that would get paid more than that amount

as well.

I feel that I have been able to have an insider's view on this job because I know

my bank manager pretty well. I have interacted with him a little bit about my interest in

this type of job. His job is very administrative with many jobs like approving some of the
larger loans, holding weekly meetings with my specific team and joining meetings with

the other teams. He is also the one who assesses the work that we do and works with

us to improve our accuracy and efficiency. My manager works on the interviews and

applications for the new employees and hiring process. He has many jobs and on top of

all of that he is the one who is involved in direct communication with our contractors by

keeping them in business with us and working out the best ways to work with them. I

have seen that recently they broke his job down and we now have some lower level

managers that are more invested in the specific teams and the more tedious things like

timesheets and direct communication with the entry level employees. I have been able

to see as he balances not only all of this work but his family as well. He is a husband

and father and it has been fascinating to watch as he balances all of this in his life. This

has not only been something that has helped me to see the reality of this job but it has

also inspired me to work hard in school and in my work so that I can become as

successful and devoted as he is.

After researching this job I have been able to understand some of the pros and

cons of this line of work. I have seen that it is a much better pay and more working with

the employees helping them to succeed in any of the goals that they have in the

company. I have seen my manager try to help us and if we want to move up in the

company we are able to talk with him, ask questions and gain a better understanding of

what we need to do to be successful. These would all be some of the pros of being a

bank manager. I love helping people and would want to help my employees or clients to

get what they needed from the company. Some of the cons would be that it is more

administrative work and it is stuff that is more behind a desk and not working with the
customers as much. It would be less of a job working with people and more behind the

scenes work as far as the customers are concerned. Another con would be that there

would be a lot of overtime work. Not only do they have their full time work but they also

have to be available for any time that they are needed when they are not working or

when on the weekends if the bank is open over the weekends. (HOW TO BECOME A

Bank Branch Manager). I have seen this play out in my own company. We are open on

Saturdays and Sundays and we still need to be able to reach the manager when there

are questions or concerns about a certain customer. I have had times when I need to

reach out to a manager on a Saturday because of mistakes that have been made or

adjustments that we need to make. This is something that would be hard for me

because I like to not think about work when it is done so that I can live in the moment

more. So for me this is a very large con of this occupation. These are all things that will

help in making the decision to either pursue or not the bank manager position. These

are things that I will heavily consider when making my decision.

As I have done research and looked into this type of job more I have been able to

see that this is a job I could see myself fitting into. I think that I have many of the

qualities that are needed in a manager. However I don’t know that I would enjoy this line

of work. I enjoy working with people and helping people and this is something that

would not be like that. I wonder sometimes how well I would do at a desk job all of the

time and if I could mentally and emotionally do that kind of work. This is something that I

will have to consider more when deciding if I would like to pursue this occupation, but I

do think that this is a job I could not only do but succeed at. I would be able to problem

solve and work around any issues with employees or clients. So to conclude, while I
don’t know for sure yet if I would enjoy this occupation or be able to do this long term I

think it is a viable option for me to pursue.

 Works Cited:

1. Example career: Financial Managers, branch or department. West Virginia

University. (n.d.). Retrieved July 31, 2022, from

https://www.wvu.edu/academics/careers/financial-managers-branch-or-

department

2. Bestaccreditedcolleges.org. (n.d.). Retrieved July 31, 2022, from

https://bestaccreditedcolleges.org/articles/how-to-become-a-bank-branch-

manager-education-and-career-roadmap.html

3. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2022, April 18). Financial managers :

Occupational outlook handbook. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved July

31, 2022, from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/financial-managers.htm

4. CareerExplorer. (2022, February 15). The job market for Bank Managers in the

United States. CareerExplorer. Retrieved July 31, 2022, from

https://www.careerexplorer.com/careers/bank-manager/job-market/

5. How to become a branch manager in a bank. Indeed Career Guide. (n.d.).

Retrieved July 31, 2022, from https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-

job/branch-manager-in-bank

6. Kourmentza, E. (2022, April 26). Branch manager job description. Recruiting

Resources: How to Recruit and Hire Better. Retrieved July 31, 2022, from

https://resources.workable.com/branch-manager-job-description

7. Bank branch manager - salary, how to become, Job Description & Best Schools.

OnlineDegree.com. (2021, June 4). Retrieved July 31, 2022, from

https://www.onlinedegree.com/careers/finance/bank-branch-manager/