Pros: The intern program was well organized. There were cool events and talks to attend. My team and its role in Amazon were also cool.

Cons: Being an intern at a large company like Amazon is truly like being a cog in a machine. My project itself was not very interesting or rewarding and was more like grunt work for the team. That being said, my experience might not necessarily apply to other interns.

Pros: Lots of autonomy. Engineering teams drive the company and are heavily involved in planning, design, and business decisions. My manager, PM, and even director look to me (an SDE-I right out of college) for input and expertise all the time. As an engineer, you have as much influence as you are willing to exert, so long as you have the skills and knowledge to back it up. Different work schedules/styles are flexible and supported. Some of my teammates take 1 WFH day per week to help balance family needs, others come in at 11 AM because they're just not morning people. As long as you are present when needed (like for meetings) and are delivering good work, you have lots of freedom to make the job work with your life. It's a small convenience to be able to schedule something like a doctor's appointment any day of the week and not have to ask permission of my manager or log "sick day" hours, but it really does help reduce life stress. Incredible growth potential. Clear guidelines for how to advance in your role are available to you from day 1. Easy mobility within the company, plenty of room to explore almost any technology/role you could ever want to try without leaving the company. As an entry-level software engineer, you can direct your career to become a TPM, SDM, Principal, Data Engineer, or just about anything else you desire. Networking within the company is easy and there are internal tools and groups to support it. Pay and benefits are good, as well as stock bonuses.

Cons: Onboarding felt like being thrown into a pool with no knowledge of how to swim. This isn't so much a con as a caution: if you aren't willing to push through confusion, read documentation, experiment and fail, and teach yourself new things every day, then you won't be very successful or happy. Don't be afraid to speak up and ask questions. Accept that you will feel dumb for ~6 months. The learning curve has been steep for me, but embracing the struggle has made work very rewarding.

Pros: There's lots to learn in terms of mechanisms, and there are smart people to work with. Work-life balance depends on the team, your org, etc.

Cons: Work-life balance is not great. Mechanisms and LP focus are a bit much instead of actually getting work done.