Walmart Pays Gen Z to Skip College and Earn Six Figures

First-year truck drivers at Walmart can make up to $115,000 a year — without a college degree or a dollar of tuition debt. That is the promise at the center of Walmart's flagship Associate to Driver program, launched in 2022, which pays eligible frontline associates while they earn a commercial driver's license and move into the retailer's Private Fleet. More than 1,000 employees have already graduated into driving roles through the program, according to the company, and experienced drivers can earn up to $135,000 annually.

The bet is aimed squarely at Gen Z. The average total cost of a four-year degree now runs $108,584, according to a report by the Education Data Initiative, and skepticism about the value of that spend is spreading. Only one in four adults without a college degree believe most people can access an affordable, quality education, according to a Gallup and Lumina Foundation report.

"It's just not affordable," Betsy Mayotte, president and founder of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors, told Fortune, arguing that the days of education for education's sake are over. "If the return on investment isn't there, then you need to find another path to get that degree to work in that profession," she said.

Why Walmart built it

The program answers two problems at once. In 2021, the American Trucking Associations estimated the trucking industry faced a shortage of 80,000 drivers — an all-time high at the time. Meanwhile, Walmart was hearing from its own workers during "listening sessions" about its education program, Live Better U, that they wanted more than degrees and certificates.

"We're doing this and we're making the investment because we want to connect it with a job that Walmart has," Walmart Chief Talent Officer Lorraine Stomski recalled workers explaining. That feedback, combined with a wave of upcoming driver retirements, produced the pitch, she said: "Why don't we just build our own program and train them?"

How the pipeline works

The program lasts 16 weeks: eight weeks of training, then eight weeks moving freight through Walmart's network alongside a dedicated trainer. Applicants must have worked at Walmart for at least a year and hold a commercial learner's permit before entry. The company also gives candidates a "day in the life" preview covering the schedule, time away from home, and the demands of the job.

"While the rewards of this career path are great and it's an economic mobility platform for our associates, at the same time, a driving job is an intense job, and it's not made for everyone," Ryan McDaniels, Walmart's senior vice president of transportation, told Fortune.

The fleet now counts more than 17,000 drivers, and Walmart has scaled from holding classes once every three months to bringing in a new class every month. Drivers earn an average of about $109,000, with higher earners well beyond that.

Giovani Diorio, who graduated in February 2025, comes from a family of drivers — his father, brother, and uncle all drive professionally. He once planned to attend college but turned away over uncertainty about what to study and the potential cost. "I didn't want to waste my time," he said. "It's very costly to go to college, especially [if] you go and then you don't use the schooling that you went for." Walmart covering the training while continuing to pay him, he said, "opened up a lot of financial possibilities where I could save money, put money away, and just better set myself up for the future."

Beyond the cab

The driver program's success has spawned two more pathways: Associate to Technician and Associate to Optician. The technician track partners with third-party trade schools and pairs formal training with an apprenticeship led by experienced Walmart technicians. Stomski said associates can move from roughly $16 to $20 an hour to $35 to $40 an hour once qualified.

Walmart has committed to placing 4,000 technicians by 2030 and has already trained and placed about 600, Stomski said. In the first technician pilot, all 105 participants who completed the program landed roles.

Associate to Optician, launched in June and still in pilot, combines on-the-job apprenticeship with online coursework so associates can keep working while training for licensed roles in Walmart's vision centers. The company estimates the pathway saves each participant about $20,000 in tuition.

Stomski did not reveal future programs, but said Walmart will "continue to look at the workforce and the external marketplace" to stay current with the skills it needs. The model will not replace college for everyone. But for workers weighing a costly degree, it points to a different calculus: the most valuable education may be one that comes with a job already attached.