The Average Salary of Wal-Mart Manufacturers

Wal Mart is a popular place for many people to find a job. It is open during extended hours, seven days a week. The store is large, has many departments, and many of the jobs require little experience to get started. However, when it comes to heading up the corporate ladder, information becomes a little more complicated. Because Wal Mart is, in theory, a merit-based company, the amount that a manager will make is not always clear. Some websites like glassdoor.com will tell you that the manager’s salary is an average of over $100K per year. However, in other articles, you will find people who are customer service managers or deli managers, and they will say that they have gone from $8/hour to $10 per hour in six years. The answer to this question is convoluted. It really depends on several factors:

1. The Definition of Manager:

The people making $100K and more for Wal Mart are more than likely the store’s general manager. These people are unlikely to have worked their way up from minimum wage, unless they did so while pursuing a college degree and a Masters in Business (MBA). This is a position that requires both education and experience to get, and is in a salary bracket probably off-limits to those without a high school or college diploma, at least at Wal Mart.

2. The Location: Cities like Seattle now have a $15/hour minimum wage. States like Georgia and Wyoming maintain the lowest minimum wages in the nation, at $5.15/hour. The salary or hourly wage of a manager will be directly related to the minimum that a new employee can make, because a managerial job and the additional responsibilities should always come with a raise.

3. The Discretion of Management:

When a new manager is promoted, or given a raise, it is based in part on the way that they work, as well as the value they offer to the program. There is usually a hiring structure in place that will have money available to bring in a new manager. Salaries for this new person come in a range, so that they have some flexibility in choosing the right person. Giving a good employee with no management experience a chance to move up will likely put them at the low end of the salary scale, while the high end is reserved for people who they really want to tempt into the job due to some great skill or experience.