Would NOT recommend - Software Development Engineer Amazon Employee Review

1.0
21 Mar 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Salary is reasonable. Extras include health plan, signing bonus, share poptions. Highly dynamic environment - free use of AWS services with no real cost limits. The intensive hiring process means you will work with lots of smart people.

Cons

Extremely hierarchical - what matters is meeting deliverables and pleasing the higher ups. No work/life balance. Meetings scheduled outside work hours are quite normal; deadline pressure is significant and you'll be expected to sacrifice your personal life to meet them regardless how stupid the original estimates. On-calls can be hell. Depending on your role it may mean doing some occasional quiet shifts one every few months or you may find yourself in a role where you are almost always on-call. Its hell when can't be away from the laptop and find yourself being paged out of bed at 3am to handle problems or join conference calls. Frugality is considered to be a corporate value - it means they're cheapskates. The Amazon values are repeated in cult-like fashion as though they are deep insights rather than the banal corporate drivel they are.

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5.0
21 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Schedules are beneficial to fit most needs

Cons

Communicating can be hard at times

5.0
10 Jan 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Really smart people, a lot of opportunity for growth, always encouraged to be innovative, think big, and create something new. Competitive salary and benefits with other major tech companies. 100% self motivating work environment. No dress code and 4 legged friends are welcome.

Cons

You have to be self motivated. NO ONE will hold your hand and tell you that you're doing a great job. If you need constant affirmations from management, this company isn't for you.

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