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Really smart people and a lot to learn, but management and policies are demoralizing

Software Engineer II
Current Employee
Has worked at Amazon for 4 years
August 4, 2023
Vancouver, British Columbia
2.0
Doesn't RecommendNegative OutlookDoesn't Approve of CEO
Pros

Really capable, dedicated, and smart people work at Amazon. There's a lot to learn, and the scale of the products is an interesting challenge by itself. Great initial pay. Good benefits. It's a great place to earn experience on what to do and what not to do.

Cons

Good managers don't last much. Leadership is dishonest. You will hear high-level managers and executives continuously saying they are working on addressing employee feedback while ignoring it or even directly going in the opposite direction. Leadership leads by force and not by example. Retention policies are just sad. It's common internal knowledge that the best way to get a promotion and pay bump is to quit and come back after 6 months, since even if you get a promotion, the compensation increase is not significant and not worth the effort.

Stack ranking practices are in disguise. They are currently forcing people to quit without severance or relocate cross-state and cross-country, even for people with exceptions signed by VPs. Clearly leveraging the current job market conditions to get away with that.

Overall, it's a good place to improve your resume and your career, but don't expect to stay there for more than 1 or 2 years, and please don't trust leadership. And given the current attrition, I would be surprised if it continues to be a good place to learn things in 5/10 years.

Advice to Management

Not much. Employees have been voicing their concerns for a long time, and you are well aware of everything you are doing and keep doing it.

Additional Ratings

Work/Life Balance
3.0
Culture and Values
2.0
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
4.0
Career Opportunities
3.0
Compensation and Benefits
4.0
Senior Management
1.0

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