I'm a Walmart store manager at 23. I worked hard to get this life and started as a cashier — here's my career journey.

Kiley Pulley transitioned from cashier to store manager within seven years.

Kiley Pulley Kiley Pulley became Walmart's youngest US store manager at 21, starting as a cashier at 16.

Her former store manager helped her through her succession plan and interviews.

Pulley emphasizes learning daily and adapting for career growth.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kiley Pulley, a 23-year-old Walmart store manager in Buckeye, Arizona.

It has been edited for length and clarity.

In 2019, when I was 16 years old, I started working at Walmart as a part-time cashier.

I wanted my own money, and figured, why not just get a job? My sister and my mom were already working there, and it was also right down the street from my high school.

It was easy for me to get out of school and walk to work.

Over the next few years, I moved through different roles, from cashier to stocker to online fulfillment.

Then, when I turned 18, I became an academy trainer, and six months later, a digital team lead.

When I became a team lead in mid 2021, it hit me that I wanted to stay at Walmart full time and make it my actual career .

At 19, I became an operations manager, and right before I turned 22, I became the youngest store manager at Walmart in the US.

People ask me, "How did you do it?" My answer is to show up and learn something new every day.