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Take the money and run

Software Development Engineer II
Current Employee
Has worked at Amazon for less than 1 year
January 13, 2017
Seattle, Washington
2.0
Doesn't RecommendNegative OutlookDoesn't Approve of CEO
Pros
  • Having this on your resume gets you an automatic interview at Google.
  • You can contribute to huge-scale projects, which sharpens your skills for your next job.
  • Pay is great.
  • Most jobs are in Seattle, so you can buy MJ like beer.
  • Beyond L4, the pressure to reach a promotion is low.
  • Can negotiate vacation.
  • Switching teams is getting easier.
  • Locations all around the world.
  • You know when your big stock vests are coming. When it does, take that money and run to Google.
Cons
  • The NY Times article may be embellished, but it is founded in reality for many folks (but not all teams).

  • Your offer may be for one team, and then after moving to Seattle, you show up Day 1 and find out you are actually assigned to a different team.

  • For 99% of folks, Amazon can only be a transitional place.

  • Ops load is massive for devs.

  • Tech debt is the main thing you'll get to work on.

  • Most jobs are in Seattle, which has an insane cost of living.

  • Promotions are insanely political; most folks won't even get a fair shot at one.

  • Java, Java, and more Java.

  • Paid in stock for a large portion of your compensation.

  • US health insurance is so-so.

Advice to Management
  • Quit so that competent managers can replace you.

  • Look at TechSurvey results and do something about them. Automatically identify outliers and solve those problems. Engineers under those bad managers are suffering.

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