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Like working at Wal-Mart, except you write software

Software Development Engineer II
Current Employee
Has worked at Amazon for less than 1 year
June 18, 2008
Seattle, Washington
2.0
Doesn't RecommendDoesn't Approve of CEO
Pros

Great place to learn the fundamentals of highly distributed/scalable transaction-oriented development. Must be young, hungry, and kid-free to fully appreciate the experience. It's fast and furious.

Cons

You work very hard. That's not so bad unless you like to see your kids. The fact that developers often become first-level support for mission-critical services means you will often carry a pager that will wake you at 3 in the morning because a server in Japan is performing aberrantly. There is this aura of thrift that, after a while, creeps darkly into your morale, notably the "horse stall"-like offices. It literally seems to be modeled after a warehouse-based sweatshop, right down to the "desk doors." It goes without saying these people are not great followers of Feng Shui.

Advice to Management

Please rethink the decor. Seriously, as silly as it seems, it does affect morale.

Read some of those books you sell. Quit embracing SCRUM like it's the last savior of mankind; embrace your people. They have souls from which creative, non-linear thinking produces the very ideas that help you innovate.

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