A Tampa Bay TikTok creator who works at Walmart took to the platform to give her followers an easy come-up in the job market — especially in these deeply uncertain economic times.
If you believe the administration-backed predictive markets, then there’s a 25% chance that there will be a recession by the end of 2026. There has been a poorly planned Middle East war, slowed oil production to long-time American trade partners, and tariffs that haven’t done any good for job markets across America. And that’s not even mentioning what AI has done to entry-level jobs. For most people, they’d take employment advice from whoever has any wisdom to share.
TikTok creator lettersfromerin97 gave a quick breakdown of how she’s been navigating her job at Walmart and how she ended up getting a relatively quick raise at the company. Currently, she works as an optician apprentice at Walmart, and she earns $30/hr.
That’s not where she started, though. She explained that she has been with the company for a year, and the first thing she did when she got there was take a certification. She told her hundreds of thousands of viewers that Walmart gives you the opportunity to get certified because it pays you and trains you for free.
Apparently, the classes only took a couple of months, and she felt ready for the written tests. When she took the test and passed, she got a 10% raise from her initial $26/hr. She did give an extra tip, however, for people holding part-time positions, saying that you can ask your managers at Walmart if you can split your time between two stores. There’s a benefit if you go to a far-away store — you’ll get gas money and an allowance for time spent on the road.
The TikTok creator was encouraging people in the comments to also be open about the jobs they do and how much they make. And people were more forthcoming than you’d expect. One user said, “I build diesel and CNG engines making $30/hr, 40 hrs/week, and no weekends or holidays. I was trained by the company, so no debt associated with it.” While another user added, “I’m 25, I make $23 as an operations manager at a popular drugstore! Very fast-paced work. I do scheduling, payroll, receive and unload pallets of truck. Resets, merchandise, photos… EVERYTHING. I’m so underpaid!!” But it wasn’t all bad news. One user wrote, “I am salaried. I work for a health insurance company. I make $175K and some change. No college degree, and got a GED, not even a HS diploma. I clawed my way up from customer service (answering phones). Been there over 25 years.”
As they say, a problem shared is a problem half solved. There are endless stories with statistics about what the economy should be and who is making the most money. Sometimes you just have to talk to your neighbor and ask them how they’re faring. Luckily, TikTok gives a great opportunity for this.
Published: Apr 29, 2026 03:58 pm