Amazon Reston reviews

Here's where I have a LOT to say. First and foremost? Amazon is a VERY strange, dysfunctional place to do computer support. A large number of processes you'd do standard ways in other companies are handled at Amazon via custom-made web interfaces and tools instead. Need to disable a user account? Nope - you're not given access to that option in Active Directory on a Windows server. Instead, you go through a custom web tool that has it on a menu. Need to create an email distribution list? Again, it might be hosted on Exchange but they have a special web page you use to set that up instead. This would be ok, but it creates an unnecessary learning curve for people they hired who already knew how to do all of these tasks the normal way. But that's just the beginning! The bigger challenge is the lack of ability to find good documentation on almost anything you use or support. It generally exists, but there's a culture of "tribal knowledge" where it feels like you're always seeking out the "right person" who happens to know the esoteric command lines to issue on a Terminal or Command prompt to fix something. Searching for it in the official documentation involves poring through wikis, a knowledge base set of documents, articles posted on SharePoint, documents people put in the third-party Quip tool and work-logs and correspondence of old trouble tickets. Even then, you may be reading only outdated information that no longer applies, because everything changes at a rapid pace. I haven't worked for Amazon long enough to have a strong opinion of what goes on in middle to upper management. But it feels like many initiatives are done in "silos" and rolled out without a good understanding (or concern) if they cause problems for other teams. Core principles of the company often feel like double-edged swords that can be wise or detrimental, depending on their interpretation. For example? Amazon always speaks of the importance of making a quick decision over inaction, and of most choices being "two way doors" that you can back out of after starting if they don't work out. That's great until you see how much disorganization it encourages when hundreds or thousands of teams are all rushing to introduce changes and new ways to do things that they just throw out there rapidly.

No work-life balance; not near market for salary, vacation time; not friendly to parents; slave labor mentality from exec management