Walmart plans to AX degree requirements from hundreds of its corporate job descriptions

[Pierce Manhammer]

Walmart, which is basically a retail giant, and the only Fortune 1 in existence recently announced they're loosening up on requiring college degrees for some of their corporate jobs. Essentially, they're saying, "Look, if you've got the skills, we don't necessarily need to see a diploma."

Why are they doing this? Well, Walmart wants to break down some of the roadblocks that make it tough for people to move up the career ladder. They're going to roll out new job descriptions next year, focusing more on skills or relevant experience rather than just formal education.

This isn't just a Walmart thing, either. Other big-name companies like IBM, Accenture, and Google have been making similar moves. It's part of a broader trend across the U.S. where skills and practical know-how are starting to matter more than just academic credentials.

That said, some specialized jobs—think doctors, engineers, or lawyers—will still require those formal qualifications. But for a growing number of roles, it's all about what you can do, not just where you learned to do it.

Walmart eliminates university degree as requirement for corporate jobs

Walmart has eliminated college degrees as a requirement for hundreds of its corporate roles.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[The Duke]

When I read stuff like this I always ask myself, "what is their motive"?

Is there a shortage of qualified candidates? Not that I am aware of.

Will a person with only certificates vs. a college degree and certificates be willing to work for less money? Yep.

I have a friend that does network/IT for IBM with certificates and no college degree. They classify him as a contract employee because he has no degree. He is paid less than the non contract employees that do the exact same thing.

This game has been played for years. I've seen corporations do it in engineering departments. They will take guys with lots of hands on experience and good understanding of the product, put them in engineering positions, and pay them 30% less but have them do the same functions a degreed engineer does.

 

[Bigpapa]

When I read stuff like this I always ask myself, "what is their motive"?

Is there a shortage of qualified candidates? Not that I am aware of.

Will a person with only certificates vs. a college degree and certificates be willing to work for less money? Yep.

I have a friend that does network/IT for IBM with certificates and no college degree. They classify him as a contract employee because he has no degree. He is paid less than the non contract employees that do the exact same thing.

This game has been played for years. I've seen corporations do it in engineering departments. They will take guys with lots of hands on experience and good understanding of the product, put them in engineering positions, and pay them 30% less but have them do the same functions a degreed engineer does.

It is a populist move

“College tuition is so expensive”, no worries come to us as you do not need that piece of paper, “ but here 30% less because you did not had that cost”

In all fairness, for a lot of corporate jobs you do not need a college degree but at the same time for sure the companies are going to cut the salaries as till now if they did ( and required a college degree ) no one would have come to work for them

 

[Pierce Manhammer]

As I hiring manager I offered salaries (at big companies I worked at) to my engineers commensurate with their value, not their degrees, or what school they were from.

And while an MIT/CalTech/Carnegie Mellon engineer is almost usually better than their peerage, they still got paid at the same levels as their intellectual and productivity equals.

 

[CornbreadFed]

What is stopping these companies from moving the goal post later on? At the end of the day, get the degree. Statistically, you a person with a degree is better off than a person without one.

 

[Bigpapa]

What is stopping these companies from moving the goal post later on? At the end of the day, get the degree. Statistically, you a person with a degree is better off than a person without one.

You were complaining that getting a degree is expensive and what is the value of it , but now you are saying that you are better with a degree than without one

 

[The Duke]

As much as people complain about college being too expensive and it's not free b.s. it still offers a good return on investment. Too many short term thinkers out there. Or people that dont think. Walmart isnt exactly a company I would do business with. The biggest greedy wh0re in a America, right up there with McDonalds.

 

[CornbreadFed]

You were complaining that getting a degree is expensive and what is the value of it , but now you are saying that you are better with a degree than without one

It is too expensive, but even with the cost you are still better off with a degree than without one. Employers are going to always prioritize degree holders over non-degree holders, and you will enjoy more stability in the marketplace. Your truck driver in a good setup making 6 figures is more than likely screwed if he loses that job or suffers from a medical setback vs a degree holder in a profession will have an easier time replacing their job.

 

[sangheilios]

As much as people complain about college being too expensive and it's not free b.s. it still offers a good return on investment. Too many short term thinkers out there. Or people that dont think. Walmart isnt exactly a company I would do business with. The biggest greedy wh0re in a America, right up there with McDonalds.

It is too expensive, but even with the cost you are still better off with a degree than without one. Employers are going to always prioritize degree holders over non-degree holders, and you will enjoy more stability in the marketplace. Your truck driver in a good setup making 6 figures is more than likely screwed if he loses that job or suffers from a medical setback vs a degree holder in a profession will have an easier time replacing their job.

I'm not so sure. Unless you are going to school for something very specific, I feel it's a waste of time.

"College" can still include trade type programs at community colleges, things like XRay Tech, Welding, etc. However, with bachelor's level stuff this would include just about any engineering/STEM field (electrical, industrial, etc.) or things like nursing, accounting, etc. Outside of this, if you are looking to go beyond these career fields you'd need to get into a master's or doctorate type program, such as going to med or dental school, law school, etc.

One really good example of a field that gets a lot of attention and is oversaturated is business. I think getting a bachelor's degree in this is a potential ticket to a white collar job but not necessarily one that pays all that well. I think the next step here is many get an MBA or something along those lines, thus furthering the student debt cycle.

However, I believe outside of these examples the vast majority of what is available at college is a waste of time. A bachelor's degree is not all that big of a game changer like it used to be. I think those seeking a degree should be very careful with how they go about pursuing it. This is something that can become a massive waste of both time and money that you'll ultimately not be getting back.

With all of this said, entrepreneurship and pursuing a non traditional route can definitely work and there are many college drop outs that have done quite well for themselves. HOWEVER, this is not something that most people have the capacity to excel at and should seriously be considered. The vast majority of people are far better off getting themselves into a stable and decent paying career field that they can rely upon. The reality of entrepreneurship is that it requires many variables that the majority of people will not be able to bring to the table. It is going to require a self starter mindset, a lot of hard work and patience and honestly a great degree of risk tolerance, which is a trait most people do NOT have.

 

[SW15]

I'm not so sure. Unless you are going to school for something very specific, I feel it's a waste of time.

"College" can still include trade type programs at community colleges, things like XRay Tech, Welding, etc. However, with bachelor's level stuff this would include just about any engineering/STEM field (electrical, industrial, etc.) or things like nursing, accounting, etc. Outside of this, if you are looking to go beyond these career fields you'd need to get into a master's or doctorate type program, such as going to med or dental school, law school, etc.

One really good example of a field that gets a lot of attention and is oversaturated is business. I think getting a bachelor's degree in this is a potential ticket to a white collar job but not necessarily one that pays all that well. I think the next step here is many get an MBA or something along those lines, thus furthering the student debt cycle.

However, I believe outside of these examples the vast majority of what is available at college is a waste of time. A bachelor's degree is not all that big of a game changer like it used to be. I think those seeking a degree should be very careful with how they go about pursuing it. This is something that can become a massive waste of both time and money that you'll ultimately not be getting back.

With all of this said, entrepreneurship and pursuing a non traditional route can definitely work and there are many college drop outs that have done quite well for themselves. HOWEVER, this is not something that most people have the capacity to excel at and should seriously be considered. The vast majority of people are far better off getting themselves into a stable and decent paying career field that they can rely upon. The reality of entrepreneurship is that it requires many variables that the majority of people will not be able to bring to the table. It is going to require a self starter mindset, a lot of hard work and patience and honestly a great degree of risk tolerance, which is a trait most people do NOT have.

I tried to write my own comments on this to further it. I could not. This was perfect analysis.

 

[Pierce Manhammer]

Walmart gave 1.7 billion dollars in charity in FY 2023.

In most disaster situations Walmart trucks arrive with food and water before FEMA does.

Every one of their DC’s has thousands of square feet of pallets water and food for local disaster relief.

Unknown to most Walmart is no longer run by the Walton family.

They pay for all higher education for all their ft employees. They also profit share with employees.

They also have very low employee attrition some of the lowest in the retail industry

They do a hell of a lot more for the communities in the US then most relief organizations put together.

Don’t believe me do your own research.

As much as people complain about college being too expensive and it's not free b.s. it still offers a good return on investment. Too many short term thinkers out there. Or people that dont think. Walmart isnt exactly a company I would do business with. The biggest greedy wh0re in a America, right up there with McDonalds.

 

[CornbreadFed]

I'm not so sure. Unless you are going to school for something very specific, I feel it's a waste of time.

"College" can still include trade type programs at community colleges, things like XRay Tech, Welding, etc. However, with bachelor's level stuff this would include just about any engineering/STEM field (electrical, industrial, etc.) or things like nursing, accounting, etc. Outside of this, if you are looking to go beyond these career fields you'd need to get into a master's or doctorate type program, such as going to med or dental school, law school, etc.

One really good example of a field that gets a lot of attention and is oversaturated is business. I think getting a bachelor's degree in this is a potential ticket to a white collar job but not necessarily one that pays all that well. I think the next step here is many get an MBA or something along those lines, thus furthering the student debt cycle.

However, I believe outside of these examples the vast majority of what is available at college is a waste of time. A bachelor's degree is not all that big of a game changer like it used to be. I think those seeking a degree should be very careful with how they go about pursuing it. This is something that can become a massive waste of both time and money that you'll ultimately not be getting back.

Based on my experience, I have to respectfully disagree. I began my career in a call/finance center for a Fortune 10 company, which comprised individuals both with and without degrees. The first 6 months to 1 year was us being exposed in collections before they placed us in the jobs we were initially hired for. Those with degrees received higher pay and achieved promotions significantly faster than those without degrees. Furthermore, there existed a formidable glass ceiling for non-degree holders, making it impossible for them to surpass the Shift Lead position in order to progress into middle management or even more complex analyst roles. In addition, it took the non-degree holders over 15 years in the company as a debt collector/loss prevention to get the job I was hired for right out of college with less pay. Consequently, possessing a degree, even in a field like History, as opposed to having only a high school diploma, led to a stark disparity in compensation and career advancement opportunities. You can call it BS or unfair, but that is how the corporate work environment works. It's worth noting that regardless of the workplace—whether it's Walmart, McDonald's, Target, or elsewhere—you're likely to compete against individuals with bachelor's degrees for job promotions. I did not just witness this in Corporate America either, I witnessed the same thing in Manufacturing(factories) and Food Services(Fast Food). Anecdotally, I am aware of a few people without degrees or trade skills who are doing quite well for themselves. However, they are essentially bound to their current company or location for LIFE, recognizing that it's improbable they will secure a comparable position elsewhere. If I wanted to leave my city for Los Angeles, Atlanta, Philadelphia, or whatever right now I could vs they are cemented at xyz company in xyz location forever unless they want to seriously risk losing their working conditions.

Regarding your MBA point, yes, it's unfortunate, but it reflects the reality of the American work environment. Even engineers find themselves needing MBAs to progress in their field. Accountants pursue MBAs to enhance their competitiveness. Nurses must pursue additional education to become Nurse Practitioners and advance. Doctors and lawyers undergo extended education beyond their undergraduate degrees, essentially beginning their careers with MBA equivalents. What's more, they continue to undergo additional training post-residency and law school.

To make things short and simple: Life is competitive and hard, so get fvcking used to it.

With all of this said, entrepreneurship and pursuing a non traditional route can definitely work and there are many college drop outs that have done quite well for themselves. HOWEVER, this is not something that most people have the capacity to excel at and should seriously be considered. The vast majority of people are far better off getting themselves into a stable and decent paying career field that they can rely upon. The reality of entrepreneurship is that it requires many variables that the majority of people will not be able to bring to the table. It is going to require a self starter mindset, a lot of hard work and patience and honestly a great degree of risk tolerance, which is a trait most people do NOT have.

Entrepreneurship indeed demands financial resources, diligent effort, networking, and discipline to achieve success—attributes that most typical 18-year-old high school graduates might not possess to the necessary extent. If entrepreneurship were a straightforward path, one might wonder why accomplished entrepreneurs choose to send their own children to college instead.

 

[Pierce Manhammer]

Also, if you want access to MIT courseware you can get it for free:

MIT OpenCourseWare | Free Online Course Materials

MIT OpenCourseWare is a web based publication of virtually all MIT course content. OCW is open and available to the world and is a permanent MIT activity

ocw.mit.edu

 

[The Duke]

You were complaining that getting a degree is expensive and what is the value of it , but now you are saying that you are better with a degree than without one

I thiugh

Walmart gave 1.7 billion dollars in charity in FY 2023.

In most disaster situations Walmart trucks arrive with food and water before FEMA does.

Every one of their DC’s has thousands of square feet of pallets water and food for local disaster relief.

Unknown to most Walmart is no longer run by the Walton family.

They pay for all higher education for all their ft employees. They also profit share with employees.

They also have very low employee attrition some of the lowest in the retail industry

They do a hell of a lot more for the communities in the US then most relief organizations put together.

Don’t believe me do your own research.

I believe you. Heres the flipside....They make it very difficult for smaller businesses to compete and have driven many out of business over the years. They have created tons of price pressure and drove down quality. They have pushed for self-checkout. If you want some assistance getting someone to unlock the razor blades, good fuhking luck. Their meat and produce quality is some of the worst you will ever find. Walmart keeps a minimal amount of full time employees. They do a very good job of keeping you below full time status so they don't have to pay out as much in wages. They would rather hire 4 part time people than 2 full time people. Most Walmart employess don't have higher education.

Its whatever is important to you.

 

[SW15]

One really good example of a field that gets a lot of attention and is oversaturated is business. I think getting a bachelor's degree in this is a potential ticket to a white collar job but not necessarily one that pays all that well. I think the next step here is many get an MBA or something along those lines, thus furthering the student debt cycle.

Regarding your MBA point, yes, it's unfortunate, but it reflects the reality of the American work environment. Even engineers find themselves needing MBAs to progress in their field. Accountants pursue MBAs to enhance their competitiveness. Nurses must pursue additional education to become Nurse Practitioners and advance.

I think the MBA (Master's of Business Administration) degree needs some discussion because it is a somewhat unique master's level degree as compared to other master's/advanced level degrees.

In fields like law, medicine, and engineering, it is very common to go immediately from undergraduate to graduate school. Starting around 1990, this changed for most MBAs. The 1990s is when most MBA programs started to put in a requirement for having had work experience in between completing a bachelor's degree and starting an MBA program. Most MBA students have somewhere between 2-10 years of post bachelor's degree work experience, typically falling in between 3-7 years of post bachelor's work experience.

There are also 3 different groups that pursue MBAs.

1. The usually struggling liberal arts/social science major

This group received a bachelor's degree in some liberal arts/social science major and hasn't been doing too well in the workplace. They are getting an MBA to enhance their career outcomes. Without the MBA, they are destined for mediocrity if their undergrad degree wasn't from an elite university.

Alissa Heinerscheid, the former VP of Marketing for the Bud Light brand, fell into category as an MBA student. She had a liberal arts degree from Harvard before getting her MBA at University of Pennsylvania's prestigious Wharton School of Business. The difference between Heinerscheid and most of Group 1 is that most of Group 1 has their undergrad degree from a non-elite school.

Despite her 2 Ivy League degrees, Heinerscheid's legacy is destined to become the marketer who irreparably damaged the Bud Light brand. She's only 39 years old right now. If she's able to get another job in Marketing in the private sector without a political affiliation, it's likely to be a step down.

It's a common path for undergrad liberal arts Ivy Leaguers to end up getting their MBAs at Ivy League schools.

2. The business major

This group has a bachelor's degree in Business Administration, or some adjacent area like Economics or Accounting.

In most cases, this group would be more employable than Group 1 in the absence of an MBA. This group will see a benefit to their careers from their MBA, but it is less essential for them.

3. The STEM major

This is typically someone with an undergrad degree in Computer Science or Engineering, though it could be a Mathematics major.

This person is getting the MBA to move more on to the business side within companies with a STEM orientation.

This group is really focused and benefits a lot from the MBA, though they often have a strong undergrad degree and some good pre-MBA work experience.

 

[AmsterdamAssassin]

I think there are two post-COVID consequences.

• Countries that went into isolation and only allowed 'essential workers' to work, found that the essential workers tended to be the ones looked down on - nurses, supermarket shelf stockers, plumbers, cleaners, garbage collectors - so there was a re-evaluation who is actually more valuable in our society, the lawyer or the guy who removes the garbage from your property.
• Employers notice that many college educated youngsters make awful employees - whether it's Wokeness or plain entitlement, they tend to be horribly demanding employees that don't want to be put to work and think everything should be handed to them on a silver platter, as the consequences of a society being too permissive of personal opinion being prioritised.

 

[Bigpapa]

I think the MBA (Master's of Business Administration) degree needs some discussion because it is a somewhat unique master's level degree as compared to other master's/advanced level degrees.

In fields like law, medicine, and engineering, it is very common to go immediately from undergraduate to graduate school. Starting around 1990, this changed for most MBAs. The 1990s is when most MBA programs started to put in a requirement for having had work experience in between completing a bachelor's degree and starting an MBA program. Most MBA students have somewhere between 2-10 years of post bachelor's degree work experience, typically falling in between 3-7 years of post bachelor's work experience.

There are also 3 different groups that pursue MBAs.

1. The usually struggling liberal arts/social science major

This group received a bachelor's degree in some liberal arts/social science major and hasn't been doing too well in the workplace. They are getting an MBA to enhance their career outcomes. Without the MBA, they are destined for mediocrity if their undergrad degree wasn't from an elite university.

Alissa Heinerscheid, the former VP of Marketing for the Bud Light brand, fell into category as an MBA student. She had a liberal arts degree from Harvard before getting her MBA at University of Pennsylvania's prestigious Wharton School of Business. The difference between Heinerscheid and most of Group 1 is that most of Group 1 has their undergrad degree from a non-elite school.

Despite her 2 Ivy League degrees, Heinerscheid's legacy is destined to become the marketer who irreparably damaged the Bud Light brand. She's only 39 years old right now. If she's able to get another job in Marketing in the private sector without a political affiliation, it's likely to be a step down.

It's a common path for undergrad liberal arts Ivy Leaguers to end up getting their MBAs at Ivy League schools.

2. The business major

This group has a bachelor's degree in Business Administration, or some adjacent area like Economics or Accounting.

In most cases, this group would be more employable than Group 1 in the absence of an MBA. This group will see a benefit to their careers from their MBA, but it is less essential for them.

3. The STEM major

This is typically someone with an undergrad degree in Computer Science or Engineering, though it could be a Mathematics major.

This person is getting the MBA to move more on to the business side within companies with a STEM orientation.

This group is really focused and benefits a lot from the MBA, though they often have a strong undergrad degree and some good pre-MBA work experience.

Business administration as a bachelors degree is stupid

But MBAs have a good ROI too, and not that expensive either. Can range anywhere from 20k till like 50-60k on average depending on where you do it and scholarships you can get

 

[obelisk]

Alissa Heinerscheid will fail upward. They ALL do. I am sure she will go on to **** up another major corporation in the future.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

When I read stuff like this I always ask myself, "what is their motive"?

Is there a shortage of qualified candidates? Not that I am aware of.

Will a person with only certificates vs. a college degree and certificates be willing to work for less money? Yep.

I have a friend that does network/IT for IBM with certificates and no college degree. They classify him as a contract employee because he has no degree. He is paid less than the non contract employees that do the exact same thing.

This game has been played for years. I've seen corporations do it in engineering departments. They will take guys with lots of hands on experience and good understanding of the product, put them in engineering positions, and pay them 30% less but have them do the same functions a degreed engineer does.

Perhaps they realize that having a piece of paper doesn't make you and more or less qualified on balance than a person who has worked their way up from a cashier and was a valedictorian at their school but had to skip college to take care of their dying Mother.

 

[CornbreadFed]

There are also 3 different groups that pursue MBAs.

Regardless, you will need to make yourself more competitive in any field, be it the trades, your target job, STEM, corporate America, or truck driving, among others. Even if you opt for the trades route, your education doesn't conclude after the apprenticeship if you aim to stay competitive. Compared to professions like JDs, MDs, Physician Assistants, Master of Accounting holders, and others, a bachelor's degree signifies a lower level of education and skill. Therefore, it can be considered as merely meeting the minimum requirements. Additionally, it is unwise to assume that the average individual can simply graduate from high school and achieve significant success without further efforts.