Amazon

The systems Amazon uses to build, maintain, and invent are impressive. Their onboarding and ramping-up system is effective and well-paced. With only a few months under my belt, I feel like I am both contributing in a meaningful way and also being afforded the space to ask questions and learn.

I have always heard negative things about Amazon culture, but after working here for three months, I have yet to see a culture of toxicity. Hopefully, that continues into the future.

Great work-life balance. I can take time if I need to. No one is breathing down my neck at this current juncture. I have a feeling this may change, though, as I become the owner of more things while working here.

Generally, I am happy to work hard and help, and feel recognized for such efforts. Oftentimes Amazon is seen as a "no bells and whistles" company, but I was (perhaps naively) pleasantly surprised with the quality of the work environment and food. I almost appreciate the frugality more than getting a bunch of free stuff.

Competition at Amazon amongst higher-ranking individuals is often visibly harmful to communication and productivity. Though I get the feeling that this isn't an Amazon-specific problem and more an artifact of how the rubber meets the road when business meets software.

I imagine working as a software engineer could be a tad lonely if you do not already have a good support group. I see many engineers whose lives revolve solely around their work for better or worse.

Siloing seems to be an issue at times. I often don't know if I'm working on something that another team in my department might also be working on. I imagine this is an issue in many tech companies.

I envy the money that managers earn compared to lowly engineers like me, but I do not envy that their duties seem to consist of playing politician with their peers and superiors, and bouncing between deadline-enforcer, psychologist, and encourager with their reports.

I recommend that:

• Managers try their best to retain their integrity by using a deep keel in a chaotic environment. Sometimes the back-and-forth mood swings of a manager can be jarring.
• They probe with questions rather than make incorrect assumptions about their reports.
• They continue to encourage and reward hard work.