Disappointed & Worried - SDE-III Amazon Employee Review

1.0
Apr 6, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Incredible employees who work very hard no less than 7 days a week. There's always someone willing to support and help you on a project and to challenge you and push you to be better. Free pizza and beer on Fridays and coffee

Cons

I've been here for 8 months and I haven't had a day off. There isn't great work-life balance and you CAN'T say it out loud otherwise you are openly chastised by leadership. I overheard a leader say that "you've gotta work 6-7 days a week otherwise you can't be promoted" I moved my family across the country for what I thought was an incredible opportunity only to not see them. That New York Times article was mostly accurate. I don't see people crying but they're tired, miss their families and their lives. It's interesting that we recently received an award for being a great place to work. It's blatantly to obvious they are trying to improve their image in the wake of the article last summer. It's obvious that Amazon doesn't care about its people beyond the long hours. You only get 6 holidays and 2 weeks of vacation when you start. You get 5 "personal" days in lieu of sick time. The 401k is awful, I'm going to lose out on saving for retirement by working here and the medical benefits are average at best. One of their principals is frugality and that extends to how they treat their greatest asset that brings them their bonuses and profits-their people. If you're considering Amazon, consider a company instead that actually cares about you as a person. I'm stuck here now for another long year because of my relo agreement but I plan on leaving right after that's over.

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5.0
Apr 15, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Strong engineering culture with emphasis on ownership and scalability Opportunity to work on large-scale distributed systems Good compensation and benefits compared to industry average Exposure to modern cloud technologies and internal tools

Cons

Work-life balance can be inconsistent depending on team On-call responsibilities can be demanding High expectations and performance pressure Internal processes can sometimes be complex

5.0
Jan 10, 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.

3159
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