How to Become a Loan Officer: A Career Guide

Key takeaways

• To become a loan officer, consider earning an associate or bachelor’s degree in a field like finance or economics and obtaining your state license.

• A mortgage loan officer helps individuals borrow money and secure a mortgage, allowing them to purchase a home.

• The median annual loan officer salary is $74,180, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Prepare for a career as a loan officer by building your customer service, communication, and relationship management skills. Learn more about the responsibilities of a loan officer and what you need to do to begin your career as one. If you want to build key skills for a career in this field, consider enrolling in SoFi’s The Fundamentals of Personal Finance Specialization. In as little as four weeks, you’ll have the opportunity to gain skills in risk analysis, financial planning, consumer lending, and more.

What is a loan officer?

A loan officer is a finance professional who helps individuals, small businesses, and companies borrow money to accomplish goals like buying a house or getting new equipment to grow a business. A loan officer can counsel potential borrowers through the loan process, including all the terms of the loans.

Loan officers can help individuals and companies borrow money by administering the following types of loans:

• Mortgage loans

• Educational loans

• Small business loans

• Automobile loans

What does a loan officer do?

A loan officer’s general tasks and responsibilities include evaluating, authorizing, and recommending loan applications for potential borrowers. Loan officers can work in financial institutions such as banks, credit unions, or mortgage companies.

Specific tasks might include:

• Receiving and assessing loan applications

• Assessing borrowers’ creditworthiness by analyzing their financial history (a process called underwriting)

• Consulting and educating borrowers on loan terms

• Answering borrowers’ questions and providing customer service

Loan officer salary

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median annual salary for a loan officer in the US is $74,180 [1]. Your salary may vary depending on several factors, including the company you work for, your experience level and skill set, and your location.

For example, Zippia’s salary data for loan officers in the US shows that the states with the highest average salaries include the following [2]:

• New York: $59,699

• New Mexico: $58,667

• Arkansas: $57,632

States with the lowest average salaries include the following [2]:

• Idaho: $32,486

• Utah: $33,138

• Mississippi: $37,680

Depending on the company’s salary structure, a loan officer may receive a commission or bonus on the loans they originate.

Loan officer job outlook

Employment for loan officers has a projected growth rate of 2 percent between 2024 and 2034, with approximately 20,300 jobs opening each year, according to the BLS [1]. ​​Many of those openings will stem from the need to replace workers who move into different roles or leave the labor force, often through retirement.

How to become a loan officer

If you’re ready to launch a career as a loan officer, follow the steps below to streamline your process.

1. Consider earning a degree.

Many employers may look for job candidates who have at least a bachelor’s degree to become a loan officer. According to Zippia, 61 percent of loan officers hold a bachelor’s degree, while 17 percent hold an associate degree [3]. A college degree in finance, economics, or a field related to banking may give you the background knowledge desirable in a loan officer.

2. Obtain additional loan officer qualifications.

Licensing requirements to become a loan officer can vary from state to state. Loan officers who wish to work with mortgages, however, must meet federal guidelines. This will require loan officers to get mortgage loan originator (MLO) licenses from their state and register with the National Multistate Licensing System (NMLS). Obtaining a license may require coursework, passing an exam, and passing a background and credit check.

3. Build loan officer skills.

Some important loan officer skills include:

• Mortgage loans: For qualifying customers for loan eligibility, gathering necessary paperwork and information from customers, and educating them on the process, policies, and procedures

• Customer service: [s]For verifying customer data, retaining customers, and fielding calls

• Communication: For determining borrowers’ financial needs, answering questions, and guiding borrowers through the loan application process

• Documentation: For gathering and verifying documents related to a loan

• Microsoft Office: For storing, organizing, and presenting data

• Relationship management: [v]For developing relationships with clients and using customer relationship management (CRM) software to track customer and loan data

Other skills that may help your loan officer career include:

• Analytical skills: For assessing a potential borrower’s financial statements and creditworthiness, and understanding how financial markets work

• Time management and organizational skills: For handling the detailed paperwork necessary for each loan

• Knowledge of specialized banking and financial software applications: To help service a loan, as well as general computer skills, to adapt to new digital services and platforms

Read more: Important Communication Skills and How to Improve Them

Career development tip for loan officers

Zippia and ZipRecruiter can be useful sites for staying informed about skills and other qualifications that employers are looking for when hiring loan officers. These sites collect information from real resumes and job descriptions, making it easier to prioritize which skills to build as you plan your next career move.

4. Apply for loan officer jobs.

Once you’re ready to begin your job search, take some time to update your resume, practice interviewing skills, and peruse the employment landscape. For example, as of July 2025, the number of loan officer job openings on three popular career sites was [4,5,6]:

• Glassdoor: 8,911 job postings

• LinkedIn: 3,000+ job postings

• ZipRecruiter: 1,009 job postings

Employers in the following industries are currently hiring loan officers: finance, education, construction, government and public administration, health care, human resources, information technology, insurance, legal services, media and communications, and management and consulting.

Prepare for loan officer jobs with these free resources

Consider your career options by visiting our Career Resources Hub, where you can assess your skills and explore career tracks. You can also check out these free resources to help choose your path:

• Take a quiz: Career Test: What Career Is Right for Me Quiz?

• Read our Career Chat issue: High-Impact Workplace Skills: Empathy and Active Listening

• Watch on YouTube: What Should I Major In?

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