Cashiers
Career, Salary and Education Information
What They Do: Cashiers process payments from customers purchasing goods and services.
Work Environment: Most cashiers work in retail establishments, such as grocery stores, gasoline stations, and other general merchandise stores.
How to Become One: Cashiers are trained on the job. There are no formal education requirements to become a cashier.
Salary: The median hourly wage for cashiers is $13.11.
Job Outlook: Employment of cashiers is projected to decline 10 percent over the next ten years.
Related Careers: Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of cashiers with similar occupations.
Following is everything you need to know about a career as a cashier with lots of details. As a first step, take a look at some of the following jobs, which are real jobs with real employers. You will be able to see the very real job career requirements for employers who are actively hiring. The link will open in a new tab so that you can come back to this page to continue reading about the career:
Top 3 Cashier Jobs
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Cashier
- Lion's Choice
- Hazelwood, MO
Your job as cashier will be a blend of hospitality and operations. Aside from taking orders and processing payments, you'll often be responsible for making sure the front of the house is neat and ...
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Cashier
- Kim s Convenience Stores Inc
- Mabank, TX
Cashier Location: Kims #24 - Eustace, TX Salary Range: $10.00 - $12.00 Hourly Description: Kim's Convenience Stores is a rapidly growing convenience store chain, currently having 20 locations with ...
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Food Server / Cashier
- Arthur Lawrence
- Irvine, CA
Overview Join our vibrant team as a Food Server / Cashier in Irvine, CA! We pride ourselves on providing exceptional service and delicious food in a friendly atmosphere. If you have a passion for ...
What Cashiers Do[About this section] [To Top]
Cashiers process payments from customers purchasing goods and services.
Duties of Cashiers
Cashiers typically do the following:
- Greet customers
- Scan or register customers' purchases
- Accept payments from customers and give change and receipts
- Bag or wrap customers' purchases
- Process returns and exchanges of merchandise
- Answer customers' questions and provide information about store policies
- Help customers sign up for store rewards programs or credit cards
- Count the money in their register at the beginning and end of each shift
In some establishments, cashiers have to check the age of their customers when selling age-restricted products, such as alcohol and tobacco. Some cashiers may have duties not directly related to sales and customer service, such as mopping floors, taking out the trash, and other custodial tasks. Others may stock shelves or mark prices on items.
Cashiers use scanners, registers, or calculators to process payments and returns or exchanges of merchandise.
Work Environment for Cashiers[About this section] [To Top]
Cashiers hold about 3.4 million jobs. The largest employers of cashiers are as follows:
| Food and beverage stores | 27% |
| Gasoline stations | 18% |
| General merchandise stores | 17% |
| Restaurants and other eating places | 11% |
| Pharmacies and drug stores | 6% |
The work is often repetitive, and cashiers spend most of their time standing behind counters or checkout stands. Dealing with dissatisfied customers can be stressful.
Cashier Work Schedules
Cashiers' work hours vary by employer. Cashiers often work during weekends and holidays. Some cashiers employed in establishments that operate 24 hours a day, such as gasoline stations, work overnight shifts. Part-time work is common.
Employers may restrict the use of time off from Thanksgiving through early January because that is the busiest time of the year for most retailers.
How to Become a Cashier[About this section] [To Top]
Get the education you need: Find schools for Cashiers near you!
Cashiers are trained on the job. There are no formal education requirements to become a cashier.
Education for Cashiers
Although most jobs for cashiers have no specific education requirements, some employers prefer applicants with a high school diploma or equivalent. Cashiers should have a basic knowledge of mathematics, because they need to be able to make change and count the money in their registers.
Cashier Training
Cashiers receive on-the-job training, which may last a few weeks. An experienced worker typically helps new cashiers learn how to operate equipment such as scanners or registers.
Advancement for Cashiers
Working as a cashier is often a means to advance to other careers in retail. For example, with experience, cashiers may become customer service representatives or retail sales workers.
Important Qualities for Cashiers
Communication skills. Cashiers must pay attention to customers' questions and explain pricing.
Customer-service skills. Cashiers must be courteous and friendly when helping customers.
Dexterity. Cashiers use their hands to operate registers and scan purchases.
Near vision. Cashiers need to see well enough to scan items and process transactions accurately.
Patience. Cashiers must be able to remain calm when interacting with customers.
Physical stamina. Cashiers stand for long periods.
Cashier Salaries[About this section] [More salary/earnings info] [To Top]
The median hourly wage for cashiers is $13.11. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $8.93, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $16.94.
The median hourly wages for cashiers in the top industries in which they work are as follows:
| Pharmacies and drug stores | $13.85 |
| Food and beverage stores | $13.50 |
| General merchandise stores | $12.32 |
| Gasoline stations | $11.24 |
| Restaurants and other eating places | $11.13 |
Many beginning or inexperienced cashiers earn the federal minimum wage ($7.25 per hour as of July, 24, 2009), but many states set minimum wages higher than the federal minimum.
Cashiers' work hours vary by employer. Cashiers often work during weekends and holidays. Some cashiers employed in establishments that operate 24 hours a day, such as gasoline stations, work overnight shifts. Part-time work is common.
Employers may restrict the use of time off from Thanksgiving through early January because that is the busiest time of the year for most retailers.
Job Outlook for Cashiers[About this section] [To Top]
Employment of cashiers is projected to decline 10 percent over the next ten years.
Despite declining employment, about 570,700 openings for cashiers are projected each year, on average, over the decade. All of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to other occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
Employment of Cashiers
Although retail sales are expected to increase over the next decade, employment of cashiers is expected to decline because of advances in technology, such as the use of self-service checkout stands in retail stores and increasing online sales.
| Occupational Title | Employment, 2021 | Projected Employment, 2031 | Change, 2021-31 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percent | Numeric | |||
| Cashiers | 3,371,600 | 3,036,000 | -10 | -335,700 |
*Some content used by permission of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor.