Walmart to Help Associates Get College Degrees

[MNomadic]

https://www-forbes-com.cdn.ampproject.or...-degree%2F

All part time, full time or salaried employees who've been with the company for 90 days are eligible for their new college plan. It costs the employee only ~$1 a day and allows them to pursue associates or bachelor's in business or supply chain management. If I didn't already have my own plan, I'd take a part time job at Walmart in a heartbeat for a benefit like that.

[dfrecore]

That's a great deal. I'd encourage kids who need help paying for college to work somewhere where this is going on (Home Depot, Starbucks, UPS, Walmart, etc.). It's crazy to think that working part-time through college can pay for your entire bachelor's degree, but it really is the case.

[sanantone]

Walmart didn't even give me an interview when I graduated from high school, but this is a great deal for their employees.

[MNomadic]

A guy I know got kicked out of Walmart and banned for shoplifting and other teenage shenanigans. He then applied and got hired at that same location. The manager who kicked him out constantly was very surprised to see him working (he was not the hiring manager).

[sanantone]

A guy I know got kicked out of Walmart and banned for shoplifting and other teenage shenanigans. He then applied and got hired at that same location. The manager who kicked him out constantly was very surprised to see him working (he was not the hiring manager).

Walmart hires a lot of questionable people. Their employees always seem miserable, so maybe they'll be happier now that they have a good benefit.

[cookderosa]

I would love to see a follow up knowing if people take advantage. In the companies that my husband has had this benefit (2) he used it both times (BS at company 1 and MBA at company 2) and HR was very open at his first company to say that no employee had ever used it for a degree. At his current company, people are doing it slowly, but that's because they've upped the requirement to master's degree. But in the 3 years he worked on his MBA, only 2 other employees at his campus started their master's - that's out of a couple hundred eligible. One more anecdote, I post various employee reimbursement or employee tuition funding programs on my blog / FB page from time to time, and it never even creates a mild buzz. People just don't seem to get excited about it - something that seriously blows my mind.

*When my kids are all finished with their degrees, I'll dip down to my husband's campus to pick up at least one more free degree for myself (I'm included in this perk). I just can't even imagine letting that benefit go unused.

[quigongene]

I would love to see a follow up knowing if people take advantage. In the companies that my husband has had this benefit (2) he used it both times (BS at company 1 and MBA at company 2) and HR was very open at his first company to say that no employee had ever used it for a degree. At his current company, people are doing it slowly, but that's because they've upped the requirement to master's degree. But in the 3 years he worked on his MBA, only 2 other employees at his campus started their master's - that's out of a couple hundred eligible. One more anecdote, I post various employee reimbursement or employee tuition funding programs on my blog / FB page from time to time, and it never even creates a mild buzz. People just don't seem to get excited about it - something that seriously blows my mind.

*When my kids are all finished with their degrees, I'll dip down to my husband's campus to pick up at least one more free degree for myself (I'm included in this perk). I just can't even imagine letting that benefit go unused.

The main reason I started this journey (and found you wonderful people :-) ) is that my company does tuition reimbursement. I'll be taking advantage of it very soon.

[dfrecore]

I would love to see a follow up knowing if people take advantage.  In the companies that my husband has had this benefit (2) he used it both times (BS at company 1 and MBA at company 2) and HR was very open at his first company to say that no employee had ever used it for a degree.  At his current company, people are doing it slowly, but that's because they've upped the requirement to master's degree.  But in the 3 years he worked on his MBA, only 2 other employees at his campus started their master's - that's out of a couple hundred eligible.  One more anecdote, I post various employee reimbursement or employee tuition funding programs on my blog / FB page from time to time, and it never even creates a mild buzz.  People just don't seem to get excited about it - something that seriously blows my mind.  

*When my kids are all finished with their degrees, I'll dip down to my husband's campus to pick up at least one more free degree for myself (I'm included in this perk).  I just can't even imagine letting that benefit go unused.

My husband has it, $5,250/yr and it drives me INSANE that he's not taking advantage!!!  That's a FREE degree right there, but since he doesn't really need it (he's in IT Sales), he doesn't care.  Sigh...

Back when I had it at a company, I took advantage, and I'm so glad now, because I took 5 UL courses over a couple of years at a very expensive (to me) college.  The reason I went there was not because it was a good school or anything - it's that I had FINALLY found a college that didn't go based on the semester system, which I hated with a passion.  I cannot get through a full semester of classes, I lose interest by week 7, and by week 10 I'm out of my mind.  That length of time just about kills me.  So a school with 10-week terms was awesome, and they even had 4-week courses with weekend intensives.  I tried that out, and it was brutal, but still better than the semester system.  I was also finally able to take courses that actually interested me - I didn't have to do stupid CC generic courses that I had no interest in.   3 of the courses ended up going to my HR AOS, 1 was International Business, and 1 Business Comm.  Between those and my previous CC and 4-yr school courses, I was pretty darn close to the BSBA at TESU.

After I moved away, and no longer had the benefit, I just couldn't make myself go back to traditional school.  And, that is how I found this forum.  Then I got that free Sophia course and then The Institutes free course in 2015. And then I found that final pesky Organizational Theory course I needed but couldn't find for cheap - and my CC was offering it during a summer term (8 weeks, hallelujah!), and the rest is history!!

[Sparklette]

A guy I know got kicked out of Walmart and banned for shoplifting and other teenage shenanigans. He then applied and got hired at that same location. The manager who kicked him out constantly was very surprised to see him working (he was not the hiring manager).

Walmart hires a lot of questionable people. Their employees always seem miserable, so maybe they'll be happier now that they have a good benefit.

I laugh because my brother tried not to get hired at Walmart when called into an interview while on unemployment because he wanted a less big-corp more small business job. He wore crazy mismatched plaid suiting and provided a highly unprofessional email address. He got hired as a department manager for lawn and garden. He actually enjoyed that position for the 18 months or so he worked there.

---

I would love to see a follow up knowing if people take advantage.  In the companies that my husband has had this benefit (2) he used it both times (BS at company 1 and MBA at company 2) and HR was very open at his first company to say that no employee had ever used it for a degree.  At his current company, people are doing it slowly, but that's because they've upped the requirement to master's degree.  But in the 3 years he worked on his MBA, only 2 other employees at his campus started their master's - that's out of a couple hundred eligible.  One more anecdote, I post various employee reimbursement or employee tuition funding programs on my blog / FB page from time to time, and it never even creates a mild buzz.  People just don't seem to get excited about it - something that seriously blows my mind.  

*When my kids are all finished with their degrees, I'll dip down to my husband's campus to pick up at least one more free degree for myself (I'm included in this perk).  I just can't even imagine letting that benefit go unused.

My husband has it, $5,250/yr and it drives me INSANE that he's not taking advantage!!!  That's a FREE degree right there, but since he doesn't really need it (he's in IT Sales), he doesn't care.  Sigh...

Back when I had it at a company, I took advantage, and I'm so glad now, because I took 5 UL courses over a couple of years at a very expensive (to me) college.  The reason I went there was not because it was a good school or anything - it's that I had FINALLY found a college that didn't go based on the semester system, which I hated with a passion.  I cannot get through a full semester of classes, I lose interest by week 7, and by week 10 I'm out of my mind.  That length of time just about kills me.  So a school with 10-week terms was awesome, and they even had 4-week courses with weekend intensives.  I tried that out, and it was brutal, but still better than the semester system.  I was also finally able to take courses that actually interested me - I didn't have to do stupid CC generic courses that I had no interest in.   3 of the courses ended up going to my HR AOS, 1 was International Business, and 1 Business Comm.  Between those and my previous CC and 4-yr school courses, I was pretty darn close to the BSBA at TESU.

After I moved away, and no longer had the benefit, I just couldn't make myself go back to traditional school.  And, that is how I found this forum.  Then I got that free Sophia course and then The Institutes free course in 2015. And then I found that final pesky Organizational Theory course I needed but couldn't find for cheap - and my CC was offering it during a summer term (8 weeks, hallelujah!), and the rest is history!!

My union has an education benefit that will pay 50% of an MHA but not MPH. It also requires a 2x commitment post grad. So if you go to school for 2 years, it’s 4 more years of service required after graduating or you have to repay with 8% interest any tuition paid. I’ve considered it, but it’s not the degree I want and it limits my options to move from this area which has been increasingly unaffordable. I’ve tried convincing myself it’s a good deal, but I like the idea of uncomplicating a relocation in the next couple of years when tolls and parking and rent get to be too much.

[jsd]

My employer kicks in $5k a year and I'd be stupid to leave it on the table. That's a $5k/yr raise that i would be willfully turning down.