Pros
- You will learn how to work efficiently and manage stress. - You will also learn about large scale backend systems. - Money is good. - Nice entry in the resume. If you feel like you're objectively smarter than everyone, constantly have to carry your lazy colleagues to complete projects, and barely receive any compensation for that, Amazon might work for you.
Cons
- "Fungibility". Means, you are expected to work on whatever needs work, regardless of your skills or preferences. You are also replaceable at a moment's notice. - "Efficiency". They will do whatever they can to squeeze you for every last drop of your energy. This is a direct job of your manager. You will be subtly coerced to work overtime and heavily shamed for any non work-related activity. - "Randomization". This means as soon as you half-done with one emergency project, you will be asked to drop it and start working on an even higher priority one. That's the normal flow of your work. - You know how everyone says "in Amazon you get to work with smart people"? That's used to shame you when you are not enthusiastic about doing something or fall behind in any way. Your manager will discuss that maybe you're just not as smart as you should be. - You will see people emotionally broken and crying after meetings. If you care about being nice to people, or you're someone who would say "work is not a #1 priority in my life", or if you have any serious weaknesses at all (like you're too shy or your ego is too large to reach a compromise), Amazon might not work for you.