Amazon

Amazon is like a company of companies. You will have different experiences depending on which team you work on. I say this because I interned at Amazon twice, on different teams. You can't judge the company as a whole when it comes to your work experience. Also, your manager is very important when it comes to dictating your experience at Amazon.

The general pros of working here:

• So many smart people; you will find a lot of diversity here as well.
• Interesting projects and products that they have.
• Great salary, relocation, and starting bonuses.
• Working from home is an option, as long as you get your work done.
• Lots and lots of different technologies used, spread through different teams.
• You can come in to work late. How late depends on the team, of course.
• You may get invited to free fun events, e.g., free food, sports, etc. (very team dependent)

Work-life balance can be pretty bad. I've had experiences where people get to leave early or late. It depends on the person and how much work is assigned to them, and of course, their skill level.

• A lot of tasks are assigned to you.
• On-call can be hectic; this is team dependent. Some teams have an easier on-call experience than others.
• The codebase might be outdated and annoying to work with.
• You may plateau in learning, depending on what your team does (maintenance vs. creating).

Before joining Amazon, try to look into which teams are generally good and which aren't. I won't lie; most of the teams tend to get bombarded with work and stay at work late.

Overall, it's a nice company to work for.

• Lower the workload, make employees happier.
• Measure each team's workload and try to make the team bigger if it's too high.
• Add overtime salary for people who have to stay late.
• More fun events for all teams.