About Walmart Store Careers
Walmart is one of the largest retail chains in the United States -- the company boasts approximately 2.1 million associates. Because the sales giant has chains across America, careers at Walmart are available to people of all origins. The jobs available appear daily in the Careers section of the store's website. You also can inquire about these jobs by visiting your local Walmart or frequenting job posting sites.
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Career Options
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Walmart usually has openings in different areas. You can apply to be a general cashier associate, sales associate, stocker, assistant store or department manager, programmer, optometrist, pharmacist or guest service team member. Additionally, there are driving positions. You also can find positions in marketing and corporate level management.
Best Pay
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If you're looking for a Walmart career that pays well, your best bet is to work in programming, pharmacology or optometry. These positions can earn up to three times the minimum starting salary of other Walmart careers. For example, the minimum salary for Walmart employees is $7 per hour according to the Glassdoor, although officials claim salaries are competitive and usually are between $10 to $12. However, pharmacists may make up to $83,000 annually. This reflects the fact some positions require much more advanced training and education. Corporate officers can expect to make more than general associates, and managers make the most per store outside of the programming, pharmacology and optometry positions.
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Education
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For the majority of Walmart careers, you need only a high school degree or equivalent. For sales positions, an emphasis in math is useful, as are some courses in general psychology, business and marketing. You should be able to read and write English, as Walmart expects its employees to be able to converse with customers. For some positions, you must have an advanced degree or certificate, but in general, sales experience is more important than your education level.
Work Environment
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Most Walmart employees have to be on their feet for the majority of their shift because they are manning registers, stocking shelves, retrieving products or handling returns. They must deal with many customers quickly and have the ability to multitask. With the exception of stock rooms, stores and offices are fairly clean and well-lit. Higher-level employees may work in store or corporate offices and have less physical labor. As with other sales positions, there is some risk for robbery and assault.
Concerns
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As of 2010, employees have filed dozens of lawsuits against Walmart that have put the reputation of the company under fire. These lawsuits allege that Walmart practices unfair treatment of employees, such as denying employees work breaks or forcing employees to work overtime without compensation. There also have been complaints of sexual harassment and discrimination against women, which resulted in one of the largest civil lawsuits in American history (Duke vs. Walmart). The "New York Times" reports that, according to Walmart officials, the company has taken steps to resolve these issues, such as programming registers not to work when employees are off the clock. The majority of suits have been settled.
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References
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