Banking & Financial Services
How to become a licensed banker
Sell investments and insurance to a bank's existing customers — the securities career with the shortest licensing path and a book of clients already walking in the door.
9 required steps · Free to start
- $78,140
- Median pay
- 3%
- Projected growth
- 514,500
- People in the role
2024
2024–34
2024
Figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, quoted with their framing. Full context and sources below.
The numbers
What the data actually says
Every figure is quoted with the framing its publisher used. Tap a source chip to see exactly what was measured and when we last checked it.
Median pay
$78,140per year
BLS median annual wage for securities, commodities and financial services sales agents (SOC 41-3031) in May 2024 — half earned more, half less. Equivalent to $37.57 an hour. This occupation covers financial services sales agents in banks as well as brokerage roles.
Projected growth
3%2024–34
BLS projects employment of securities, commodities and financial services sales agents to grow 3% between 2024 and 2034, which it classifies as about as fast as the average for all occupations.
People in the role
514,500jobs in 2024
BLS counted 514,500 securities, commodities and financial services sales agent jobs in 2024, projected to change by 17,100 over the decade.
Openings each year
38,100projected per year
BLS projects about 38,100 openings for securities, commodities and financial services sales agents each year, on average, over the 2024–34 decade. Most come from replacing workers who move on rather than newly created roles.
Typical entry-level education
Bachelor's degree
BLS lists a bachelor's degree as typical entry-level education for this occupation, no prior related work experience, and moderate-term on-the-job training.
The role
What the job actually is
A licensed banker, often titled Financial Services Representative or Personal Banker, sits inside a bank or credit union branch and handles the investment and insurance side of a customer's relationship: mutual funds, variable annuities, life cover, retirement accounts. The distinguishing feature of the role is where the clients come from. Rather than prospecting for your own, you work referrals from the branch — tellers, loan officers, the existing deposit base. That makes it the most accessible way into a licensed securities career, and it is why the licensing path is shorter: a Series 6 and 63 rather than the Series 7.
Typical entry-level education is a bachelor's degree, and no prior work experience in a related occupation is listed as typical.
Before you commit
The parts people wish they'd known
This is our read on the career, not a research finding — labelled so you can weigh it accordingly.
Reality check
Our recommendationIt is still a sales job with targets
Referrals arrive from the branch, but you are measured on what you convert. The difference from an advisor role is where the leads come from, not whether you have goals.
If targets are the problem rather than prospecting, look at operations, service or paraplanning roles instead.
The path
Every step, in order
9 required steps. Sign in and we'll track which ones you've done — several tick themselves as you study.
- 1
Understand what a licensed banker does
Investments and insurance for a bank's existing customers, working branch referrals rather than cold prospecting.
This is the part people get wrong: the job is still sales, but the leads come to you. If that difference matters to you, it is the whole reason to pick this path over becoming an advisor.
- 2
Confirm your licensing route
Most bank roles want the SIE plus a Series 6 and Series 63, and a state life-insurance license for annuities.
The Series 6 covers mutual funds and variable contracts — exactly what a branch sells. It is a much shorter exam than the Series 7, which is why this route is faster.
- 3
Learn securities-industry fundamentals
Products, markets, regulators and prohibited practices — the ground the SIE is built on.
Both the SIE and the Series 6 assume this vocabulary. Building it first is what makes the practice questions teach rather than punish.
- 4
Pass the SIE
Enrol through FINRA, sit the exam, and record the result here.
FINRA states the SIE is open to anyone 18 or older with no firm sponsorship required, and results stay valid for four years. It is 75 questions in 1 hour 45 minutes with a passing score of 70, and it costs $100.
- 5
Get hired into a branch role
Personal banker, relationship banker or financial services representative — the roles that lead to a licensed seat.
The Series 6 requires association with a member firm, so in practice the job comes before the license. Banks routinely hire unlicensed and sponsor the exams once you are in.
- 6
Prepare for the Series 6
Mutual funds, variable annuities, retirement plans and the rules around selling them.
FINRA's specification is 50 questions in 1 hour 30 minutes with a passing score of 70, and it costs $100. The SIE is a corequisite.
- 7
Pass the Series 6
Your firm files the Form U4 and schedules you.
The Series 6 is the qualification exam for the registration that permits selling mutual funds and variable contracts. Passing it is one requirement — you can act in that capacity once your firm files your application and the registration is approved.
- 8
Pass the Series 63
State securities law — the registration you need to do business in your state.
FINRA's specification is 60 questions in 75 minutes, needing 43 of 60 correct, at $147. There is no corequisite, so it can be taken alongside the Series 6.
- 9
Get your state life-insurance license · optional
Needed for annuities and life cover, which are a large part of what a branch sells.
Insurance licensing is set state by state. Most states require a prelicensing course before you can sit the exam, so start this earlier than you think you need to.
- 10
Build your referral relationships
Your pipeline is the branch. Tellers and loan officers decide whether you see the customer.
This is the skill that separates a licensed banker who hits target from one who does not, and almost nobody trains it explicitly.
- 11
Decide where this leads · optional
Stay in the branch, move to a brokerage with a Series 7, or move toward advising with a Series 65 or 66.
A Series 6 is a narrower license than a Series 7. Knowing that early lets you choose deliberately rather than discovering the ceiling later.
- 12
Keep your credentials current · optional
Continuing education and registration upkeep. Coming later on Finance Exam Pro.
Registered and insurance-licensed people both have ongoing obligations. We do not offer recognized CE credit today.
Worth knowing
Things that change your odds
Licensing tip
OfficialThe Series 6 is a much shorter exam than the Series 7
FINRA's specifications put the Series 6 at 50 questions in 1 hour 30 minutes for $100, against the Series 7's 125 questions in 3 hours 45 minutes for $395. Both require the SIE first.
If a branch role is the target, the shorter exam is not a compromise — it is the correct license for what you will actually sell.
Career edge
Our recommendationTellers get promoted into these seats
Banks routinely fill licensed roles internally and sponsor the exams once you are on staff. Applying to a branch job you are overqualified for is a recognized way in.
If direct applications are not landing, apply for the teller or personal banker role and tell them at interview that you intend to get licensed.
Career stat
OfficialA large occupation with steady replacement demand
BLS counted 514,500 securities, commodities and financial services sales agents in 2024 and projects about 38,100 openings a year on average over the decade, most of them replacing people who move on.
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Transparency
Sources & methodology
Everything quantitative on this page traces to one of these. Where we are giving advice rather than reporting a finding, the card says so.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Outlook Handbook: Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales AgentsWage data are 2024 medians for SOC 41-3031. Employment projections cover 2024–34 and come from the BLS Employment Projections program. This occupation includes financial services sales agents working in banks and credit unions.
- FINRA — Series 6 – Investment Company and Variable Contracts Products Representative ExamFINRA's published exam specification: 50 items, 1 hour 30 minutes, passing score 70, SIE corequisite, $100.
- FINRA — Series 63 – Uniform Securities Agent State Law ExamFINRA's published exam specification: 60 items, 75 minutes, 43 of 60 correct to pass, no corequisite, $147.
- FINRA — Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) ExamFINRA's own description of SIE eligibility, format and fee.
Disclosures
Finance Exam Pro is an independent study platform and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by FINRA, NASAA, or any examination sponsor. Licensing and registration requirements vary by role, employer and state, and change over time — confirm current requirements with the relevant regulator before you register. Career progress indicators on this site measure how far through a path you are; they are not predictions of employment. Nothing here is investment, legal, or tax advice.