Pros: Enormous opportunities to learn and grow, not just technically, but a lot from the culture and team around. Opportunities to contribute and demonstrate my skills in a number of ways. Customer Obsession. Supporting team members who are there to help me grow.

Cons: There's a lot to learn, which can make it feel overwhelming for newbies. Hopefully, things get better with time. Not really much in the initial few months.

Pros: Someone once told me that "2-3 years at Amazon equals an MBA," and after three years at AWS, I do think that is more or less true. At AWS, you get to work with the smartest people in the industry. As an AWS Solutions Architect, you get to help both internal teams and customers with some of the hardest challenges in the tech domain. You will have chances to move and try roles within Amazon and different teams.

Cons: If you want to succeed long-term at Amazon, you have to make sacrifices. You will have long days, and to be able to keep the energy up, you need to be the type of person that gets triggered by solving hard challenges.

Pros: Amazon / AWS has a very clear culture that revolves around customer obsession. Everything we do stems from something a customer wants, and then working backwards to provide a solution. I really appreciate this, as my previous employer had no culture, no clear vision, and lacked direction. In addition, Amazon has amazing self-service tools and lots of documentation, so anytime I need to do something, I have all the tools available to get it done without reaching out and waiting for someone else. Again, compared to my previous employer who had little self-serve and a lot of high-touch processes, this is a welcome change of pace. And finally, the company seems to care about people. I read a lot of negative comments and articles about Amazon and how they treat their people. That may have been true at one point, but I have not encountered anything negative towards employees since I started; it has been the opposite with many tools and services available to make my life better/easier.

Cons: I work for AWS, and for both Amazon and AWS, the biggest downside is the size. I am still relatively new (just over 3 months), and I receive emails daily for invites to discussions and events from people and groups whom I do not recognize. It is difficult to discern which communications are relevant. I work virtually and so far don't really feel like part of the team. I am hoping that changes with time, but that is probably the biggest con. In addition, because Amazon/AWS operates in so many different areas and is beholden to so many security and compliance obligations, there is a lot of upfront and ongoing training on all the usual topics (security, insider trading, inclusiveness, and so on). It gets to be a lot at times.