Good place to start your career but not for everyone - Software Development Engineer-II Amazon Employee Review

4.0
Nov 17, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

1. You meet a lot of super smart and hard-working people here. You'll become a competent coder, designer, and architect in no time. Engineers are usually nice and willing to help. 2. The pay is great especially if it is your first full-time job. 3. You can work from home if you do not have any meetings scheduled. 4. Because the work you do is usually very challenging, you develop a genuine camaraderie with your teammates. 5. Amazon is a great resume booster. You can go anywhere you'd like after working here.

Cons

1. Ridiculous amount of pressure. It's definitely not for everyone. 2. Depending on your luck, you may have to work with a product manager that loves to micro-manage. They ask for target completion dates, and proceed to track your progress on a daily basis. It can get very suffocating from time to time. 3. The downside of having a tight deadline is that you do not get that much opportunity to experiment with new technologies. Oftentimes you need to stick with the safer, less innovative approach. 4. There are not enough dev resources to carry out the vision of the management team. As a result, everyone puts in insane numbers of hours each week. Don't be surprised if you find yourself working 60 to 80 hours a week. If your teammates do it, you'll have to do it. Otherwise, you'll be considered an underperformer. 5. Perks are not as good as Facebook or Google. There's no free food or free drinks here.

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5.0
Jun 21, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
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Pros

Great team overall and great culture

Cons

work life balance is not so great

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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