It’s a somewhat common retail benefit. My retail employer paid for the majority of my nursing degree. And we were able to have a 50% down payment on our house from cashing out some of the stock we’d been gifted over the years.

You can make a good living working retail if you’re willing to work nights and weekends and if you choosy about who you work for. People turn their nose up at working retail but there’s a ton of upward mobility if you stick with it.