Amazon

The online reviews and media reporting on Amazon had me hesitant to join. I was won over by the interview loop, manager, recruiter, and peers I spoke to, leading me to give AWS a chance.

I have been in tech for over 20 years and love to be challenged. Every day is a new challenge and problem to think through, question, and evolve.

Peers I have met bring different experiences to the table. I find the environment collaborative and challenging.

I have witnessed people with a chip on their shoulder as they have been around a while and not promoted. This can be unfortunate and challenging if you are used to getting promoted based on time.

This isn't true for AWS. To be honest, it isn't that way at any startup or software company.

The other con is that the onboarding is geared for the lowest level, so if you come with deep experience in cloud and tech, it can be a chore as it feels like review, addition, and subtraction. Luckily, good managers adapt to get you the challenges you need early, which is awesome.

Make onboarding more flexible so that senior technical talent doesn't have to go through basic tech training. Those coming in my footsteps will be thankful.