Pros
The systems Amazon uses to build, maintain, and invent are impressive. Their on-boarding and ramping up system is effective and well-paced. With only a few months under my best, I feel like I am both contributing in a meaningful way and also being afforded the space to ask questions and learn. Have always heard negative things about Amazon culture, but after working here for three months, I have yet to see a culture of toxicity. Hopefully that continues into the future. Great work-life balance. I can take time if I need to. No one is breathing down my neck at this current juncture. I have a feeling this may change though as I become the owner of more things while working here. Generally, I am happy to work hard and help and feel recognized for such efforts. Oftentimes Amazon is seen as a no "bells and whistles" company, but I was (perhaps naively) pleasantly surprised with the quality of the work environment and food. I almost appreciate the frugality more than getting a bunch of free stuff.
Cons
Competition at Amazon amongst higher ranking individuals is often visibly harmful to communication and productivity. Though I get the feeling that this isn't an Amazon specific problem and more an artifact of how the rubber meets the road when business meets software. I imagine working as a software engineer could be a tad lonely if you do not already have a good support group. I see many engineer's whose lives revolve solely around their work for better or worse. Siloing seems to be an issue at times. Often don't know if I'm working on something that another team in my department might also be working on. I imagine this is an issue in many tech companies.
