So-called brand, nothing else.

1 -> Risky for outside hires

You see Amazon recruiting all the time. The reason is high attrition, not a need for employees. Out of every 100 external hires, 30 quit before 1 year; 80 quit before the 2nd year ends, and only 7% remain till the end of the 4th year when the RSUs vest.

So, if you are an outside hire, chances are 0.3 that you will have to quit before 1 year, denting your CV. Too high a risk.

2 -> Be ready to be micromanaged

Jeff Bezos is an infamous micromanager. 90% of managers in Amazon micromanage. You will be told what to do, including fonts in Word documents, the type of Excel to create, and what type of comments to provide.

3 -> Nobody will care for you

HR is non-existent in this company. Leadership principles are a big hoax, only on paper, none followed. Managers are interested only in furthering their own careers. No meaningful career discussions are possible.

4 -> Career levels -> You will be below the ones that joined out of campus or stayed many years in Amazon by a drastic margin

Career Levels in Amazon are: Level 4: SDE - 1 Level 5: SDE - 2, TPM, Manager - II, Product Manager Level 6: SDE - 3, Sr Engineer, TPM-III, Manager-III, Sr Product Manager Level 7: Principal Engineer, Principal TPM, Senior Manager - Software Dev, Senior Manager - Product Management (They will camouflage this in the external market as "General Manager" to hoodwink people) Level 8: Director Level 10: VP (There is no Level 9) Level 11: SVP Level 12: Bezos (CEO)

For internal campus hires: Level 4 - usually an SDE stays 2-3 years before making it to Level - 5. Level 5 - Level 5 to 6 is tough and can take up to 3-5 years. Level 6 to 7 is also 3-5 years.

For external hires (outsiders): Level 4: Folks with less than 4 years work experience OR with a salary lower than the max band of Level 4 will come here. Level 5: Folks with a salary less than the max of Level 5 OR with up to 9-10 years are hired here. Level 6: Folks with less than 15-16 years are hired here. Level 7: Need 15+ years.

So, net-net, if you are at Level 6 as an outsider, you could be a Director at Travelocity, while a campus hire can be there within 5 years. VERY bad for outsiders.

A Director at Yahoo may join at Level 7 and report to a joker with no people manager skills, 10 years younger to him. (The Associates team in Bangalore is one such team - worst to work for).

5: Pay

They design pay with base pay + sign-on. Sign-on is for the first year and second year - it is a trick to ensure you run on a treadmill for 2 years, and your salary at the beginning of the 3rd year can be less than the first year if you are not promoted.

6: Recruiters lie

Due to the high hiring bar and bar raiser interviews, they reject most that interview. This means recruiters are under tremendous pressure to get candidates in. Some positions are open for 6-12 months and finally moved back to Seattle. So, recruiters lie left, right, and center to get candidates in. Don't trust the recruiter.

7: Lack of social etiquette

It is Amazon's official line that since people are overworked, they don't socialize and develop social etiquette. Typical Amazon managers (those who grow from within) are abrasive.

Net-net, a bad place to join for anyone experienced. Risks outweigh benefits. In fact, unless they offer 3X pay (which they won't), it is not worth joining Amazon. Recommend this company to your worst enemy.

Be honest and ethical.