Amazon

ML Data Linguist Interview Experience

January 1, 2021

Neutral ExperienceNo Offer

Process

I applied online and was contacted about an interview approximately a month later by a recruiter. Following that, someone contacted me about my availability. Rescheduling is permissible; my interviewer even asked at the start of the interview if I wanted to reschedule.

I will post some questions below, but overall, the interview was entirely technical, with no behavioral questions from my interviewer. I was told it was a technical interview, but there was not much information available on how to prepare for a technical interview in this role. If you look on the Amazon site they send you after the scheduling email, the tech interviews are all for coding/programming positions. I ended up preparing for many behavioral questions, assuming at least a portion of the interview might be behavioral.

To me, the interview felt difficult in the moment. However, I don't believe it would have been as hard if I had known how to prepare. Therefore, I rated the difficulty as "average."

If I could do it again, I would spend time brushing up on linguistic terms and basics. I would also try practicing some transcriptions. I believe if you do that, you will perform well. I was given about two weeks between scheduling and the interview date, which is more than enough time if used wisely.

Based on other reviews, it appears some candidates did receive behavioral questions, so it might be wise to prepare for those as well, just in case.

Questions

There was a broad and narrow transcription test of a few words.

What are some differences in phonological processes among North American dialects?

What are some features that are contrastive in English?

I was asked a question about stops and manner or place of articulation. I can't remember the exact question.

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Interview Statistics

The following metrics were computed from 6 interview experiences for the Amazon ML Data Linguist role in United States.

Success Rate

17%

Pass Rate

Amazon's interview process for their ML Data Linguist roles in the United States is very selective, failing most engineers who go through it.

Experience Rating

Positive50%

Neutral50%

Negative0%

Candidates reported having very good feelings for Amazon's ML Data Linguist interview process in United States.

Amazon Work Experiences

You're fine until you're not

ML Data Linguist • Former Employee

Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Pros: Flexibility - work hours/work from home (corporate). Good benefits, pay was good (I was promoted twice). Good people.

Cons: Lack of further growth - I would've had to laterally move to a completely unrelated position. My skills became too specific to the team I was on, and I had grown as much as I could in my current position. Then, I worked too hard to be suddenly pushed out as an underperformer.

You're fine until you're not

ML Data Linguist • Former Employee

Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Pros: Flexibility - work hours/work from home (corporate). Good benefits, pay was good (I was promoted twice). Good people.

Cons: Lack of further growth - I would've had to laterally move to a completely unrelated position. My skills became too specific to the team I was on, and I had grown as much as I could in my current position. Then, I worked too hard to be suddenly pushed out as an underperformer.

Amazon work experience

ML Data Linguist • Current Employee

Pros: 1. Good work culture 2. Helps improve individual skills 3. Helps in better understanding of IT culture

Cons: 1. Should more efforts be put into retaining employees?

Amazon work experience

ML Data Linguist • Current Employee

Pros: 1. Good work culture 2. Helps improve individual skills 3. Helps in better understanding of IT culture

Cons: 1. Should more efforts be put into retaining employees?

No benefits, incredibly stressful

ML Data Linguist • Current Employee

Berlin, Germany

January 13, 2022

Pros: You learn a lot, but I doubt it's transferable to other companies.

Cons: Constant stress and panic mode, no appreciation. My anxiety has gotten so much worse. You're treated as a productivity machine and nothing more, no matter how pretty they try to make it seem.

No benefits, incredibly stressful

ML Data Linguist • Current Employee

Berlin, Germany

January 13, 2022

Pros: You learn a lot, but I doubt it's transferable to other companies.

Cons: Constant stress and panic mode, no appreciation. My anxiety has gotten so much worse. You're treated as a productivity machine and nothing more, no matter how pretty they try to make it seem.

You're fine until you're not

ML Data Linguist • Former Employee

Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Pros: Flexibility - work hours/work from home (corporate). Good benefits, pay was good (I was promoted twice). Good people.

Cons: Lack of further growth - I would've had to laterally move to a completely unrelated position. My skills became too specific to the team I was on, and I had grown as much as I could in my current position. Then, I worked too hard to be suddenly pushed out as an underperformer.

2.0
You're fine until you're not
ML Data Linguist • Former Employee
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
May 20, 2021
Pros: Flexibility - work hours/work from home (corporate). Good benefits, pay was good (I was promoted twice). Good people.
Cons: Lack of further growth - I would've had to laterally move to a completely unrelated position. My skills became too specific to the team I was on, and I had grown as much as I could in my current position. Then, I worked too hard to be suddenly pushed out as an underperformer.

Amazon work experience

ML Data Linguist • Current Employee

Pros: 1. Good work culture 2. Helps improve individual skills 3. Helps in better understanding of IT culture

Cons: 1. Should more efforts be put into retaining employees?

4.0
Amazon work experience
ML Data Linguist • Current Employee
August 4, 2022
Pros: 1. Good work culture 2. Helps improve individual skills 3. Helps in better understanding of IT culture
Cons: 1. Should more efforts be put into retaining employees?

No benefits, incredibly stressful

ML Data Linguist • Current Employee

Berlin, Germany

January 13, 2022

Pros: You learn a lot, but I doubt it's transferable to other companies.

Cons: Constant stress and panic mode, no appreciation. My anxiety has gotten so much worse. You're treated as a productivity machine and nothing more, no matter how pretty they try to make it seem.

2.0
No benefits, incredibly stressful
ML Data Linguist • Current Employee
Berlin, Germany
January 13, 2022
Pros: You learn a lot, but I doubt it's transferable to other companies.
Cons: Constant stress and panic mode, no appreciation. My anxiety has gotten so much worse. You're treated as a productivity machine and nothing more, no matter how pretty they try to make it seem.

Amazon Interview Questions

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You're given daily stock prices. Find the maximum profit you can make by buying and selling the stock once. You must buy before you sell.

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