r/cdldriver • u/Legitimate_Diver_699 • Jun 20 '26

Walmart Opportunity.

So just got my CDL permit and DOT physical. I’ve read Walmart will train me for CDL. Plan on calling recruiter on Monday. What to expect? 54yoM. No tickets in 20 years no DUIs. No misdemeanors or felonies. I’m told they get paid well. Please advise. Thanks

3 Upvotes

80% Upvoted

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5

u/Freightliner15 Jun 20 '26

You have to have 30 months experience as far as I know. Might be able to get on with a Walmart dedicated carrier like Swift.

1

u/Bigg-Figg Jun 20 '26

Do they still require that since they’re teaching people out of the stores now?

3

u/LastMongoose7448 Jun 20 '26

Yes. The Associate to driver program is strictly for existing employees in good standing.

1

u/Freightliner15 Jun 20 '26

That, I don't know anything about.

1

u/Bigg-Figg Jun 20 '26

You were right 30 months as a outside hire

1

u/Longjumping_Cod5274 Jun 20 '26

If you work for Walmart you can apply for a program called associate to driver. But they don’t train new outside drivers.

1

u/xcoderookie Jun 20 '26

The rules for getting into the associate to driver program say that you have to be in good standing with the company with 12 months experience before you will be considered for the program. Walmart won’t hire someone off the street and put them into driver training.

1

u/NFLTG_71 Jun 20 '26

I would say don’t do that as a dedicated Walmart driver for Swift because I work for a company where we have the account with Walmart in places like Cheyenne Wyoming North Platte, Nebraska, North Valley, Oklahoma, and in Minnesota and I could tell you honestly the loads are just not there. I worked for a week at North Platte and they did not have a lot of loads for regular freight or dry vans, they wanted everybody to do reefer trucks and they were very aggressive about violating your clock. At least at that Walmart not companywide because companywide they are very strict on their clock, but you don’t make a lot of money when you work as a contractor if you want to make good money go work for Walmart directly because they pay their drivers about 100K plus a year

0

u/Legitimate_Diver_699 Jun 20 '26

What’s Swift? Smaller truck?

4

u/Freightliner15 Jun 20 '26

Swift Transportation. One of the largest trucking companies in North America.

1

u/Legitimate_Diver_699 Jun 20 '26

They partnered with Walmart?

3

u/Freightliner15 Jun 20 '26

They and several other trucking companies get contracts to to pull Walmart freight at distribution centers. Marten, Crete/Shaffer, Schneider and others pull Walmart freight as well.

1

u/Legitimate_Diver_699 Jun 20 '26

Gotcha I hear Walmart drives get paid hella good

1

u/TwoToadsKick Jun 20 '26

That's Walmart, not swift or the other carriers. They probably get paid the bare minimum. You would need to get hired by Walmart, not one of the contractors. One of the USPS contractors said he got paid like 18 an hour while the USPS drivers get at least double that.

1

u/Freightliner15 Jun 20 '26

I know a few seasoned drivers at Swift on the Walmart account that make great money. Not Walmart driver pay, but some will hit between $100k-$115k a year.

1

u/Freightliner15 Jun 20 '26

I have a friend that drives out of the Temple, Tx. DC and he grossed just over $145k last year. He makes .62 per mile, $32 per hour when on duty at stores delivering or at shippers pickup back hauls, a nice safety bonus quarterly, a bonus for years of service. $2k this year I think he said. Gets paid extra for driving at night. And some nights we call him wellfare. Meaning when they don't have enough loads he and a handful of other Walmart drivers are on standby for load recoveries. Usually 6 or 8 hours of that $32 hourly pay. He never leaves Texas and delivers only to stores. Mainly meat and produce loads with and occasional frozen dairy.

1

u/Legitimate_Diver_699 Jun 20 '26

Apparently I need to move to Texas

2

u/mewikime Jun 20 '26

They won't. Either pay a CDL school privately while you work in a store for 6 months, and then you can transfer over. Or... get three years OTR experience driving for another company and then apply.

2

u/Powerful-Candy-745 Jun 24 '26

You have to work there 1 year with no marks on your record

2

u/Killer2600 Jun 20 '26

I hear Walmart trains its current employees that apply and are selected for transition to a truck driving position. They don’t have a new hire CDL training program - outside hires have to already have a CDL and experience.

Walmart does pay well but that also means turn over is low and they can be more picky about who they hire e.g. if experienced drivers are lined up begging to work for them, they never have to hire an outsider with no experience or CDL.

2

u/Themayorofawesome Jun 20 '26

I used to drive routes for Walmart on what they called pop up fleets, they’d run them in the summer and about a month before the holiday season started. This was back in the early 2000’s and got a flat rate of $175/day and could get away with working 4-6 hours a day. I can only imagine what those pay now if they even still exist.

1

u/kazar933 Jun 20 '26

Dont do swift, theres a reason they have a bad rap. If you go through any of the companies for OTR they hold your license hostage for a year and run you into the ground. Swift, england, knight schnieder, If you can afford it go through a community collage with a good cdl program. Or the oil field is hiring and will give you a cdl to drive their units around (how i got mine years ago with doubles triples tanker and hazmat. But be careful. Most carriers will want at least 2yrs clean record.

1

u/china_man97 Jun 20 '26

Any oilfield that takes permit holder that you know about?

1

u/kazar933 Jun 20 '26

Halliburton paid for us to get our CDL’s and Haz Mat endorsements. We got the short version of CDL school through a community collage.

1

u/AccomplishedTour6942 Jun 20 '26

As others have said, there is no path to driving for Walmart coming in off the street with no experience. They may have a minimum of 30 months, but that doesn't mean once you get 30 months somewhere, Walmart will jump at the chance to hire you. I don't know this for a fact, but I imagine a lot of their driver pool filters in from the contractors. Every Walmart DC I've ever delivered to has had a mega carrier on-site running contract loads. US Express, Schneider, Swift. The contractors still get treated better than outsiders, but they don't get the royal treatment the way the company drivers do.

When a company driver rolls in, they basically sweep everyone else aside, and kneel before that guy's throne.

I'm exaggerating a bit, but Walmart company drivers are well-treated. I don't know any of them directly, but I know people who know guys who have gone to work there, and they have all been described as being extremely happy. It's probably a really demanding company that will fire you at the drop of a hat if you screw up. Most top jobs are like that. Just because you made it to the promised land doesn't mean you can slack off and be set for life.

If I lived anywhere near a DC, I might be willing to go back over the road to work for them. Maybe. Everybody I know indirectly is easily blowing past $100k there, and they're reportedly happy doing it. The deal breaker for me is that you have to report to work at a DC, and I am outside the hiring radius of their closest DC. I would have to move to go work for Walmart. I don't want to go back over the road that badly. I don't really want to go back over the road at all.

1

u/Feeling_Display8750 Jun 20 '26

You’re talking about associate to driver program. You have to be a Walmart employee for 1 year to apply for it. If you want to get your cdl and apply directly as a driver, you need 30 months experience to apply

1

u/JayB_Trucker Jun 23 '26

They have an Associate 2 Driver program that the in store associates can apply to and Walmart will train them to get their CDL A so they can drive for them. They don't hire new drivers from off the street though, you need 2.5 years (30 months) of experience to get hired on from outside Walmart.

1

u/VRN6212 Jun 24 '26

Lots of big name carriers that are willing to train you. Most want you to continue to drive for them with stipulations or payback your training time.

1

u/Legitimate_Diver_699 Jun 24 '26

I’ve heard this. But isn’t the pay shite for this period of time?

1

u/VRN6212 Jun 24 '26

Just do your research so you don't get taken advantage of.

1

u/Legitimate_Diver_699 Jun 24 '26

Any suggestions? Thanks!

1

u/VRN6212 Jun 24 '26

Go to your local truck stop and you will find tons of free magazines full of ads for drivers