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Ask HN: Amazon software engineers, how is the work culture now?

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Re: Ask HN: Amazon software engineers, how is the work culture now?

#181

Post by pc86 »

murph-almighty wrote: post #170
frmramzn wrote: post #3

Moved to Google and TBH have cried once or twice because I didn't realize an employer could be so humane. Amazon was terrifying, but the academic culture I came from normalized self brutalization to succeed,so I didn't realize how much they were relying on my lack of a sense of boundaries and personal priorities to extract excess labor.

>but the academic culture I came from normalized self brutalization to succeed What school did you go to? Went somewhere similar.

Honestly I've never heard of a college that respects these types of boundaries. By its very nature if you're taking 15+ credits of academically challenging coursework you're going to be working 60+ hours a week.

My school recommended 3.5 hours of work outside of class for every 1.0 hour of lecture (roughly equivalent to credit hours with rare exception). For the minimum full-time load of 12.0 this equated to 54 hours a week (12 hours of class, 42 hours of outside). 18 credits was 81 hours a week all in, and this was expected. 100-level classes were typically less but my junior year particularly it was pretty much spot on.

Re: Ask HN: Amazon software engineers, how is the work culture now?

#182

Post by hueving »

murph-almighty wrote: post #170
frmramzn wrote: post #3

Moved to Google and TBH have cried once or twice because I didn't realize an employer could be so humane. Amazon was terrifying, but the academic culture I came from normalized self brutalization to succeed,so I didn't realize how much they were relying on my lack of a sense of boundaries and personal priorities to extract excess labor.

>but the academic culture I came from normalized self brutalization to succeed What school did you go to? Went somewhere similar.

That describes pretty much every PhD program in the US.

Re: Ask HN: Amazon software engineers, how is the work culture now?

#183

Post by not_real_acct »

BigTex420 wrote: post #9

Out of the 6 coworkers I’m close with, I’ve seen every single one of them cry for work related reasons at least once over the past year. Peak is hell.

I'm a software consultant so I've had the opportunity to work at nearly a hundred different offices.

I've seen employees driven to tears at two companies, and both of them were wretched to work for.

It became my barometer of whether the company was a good place to work for.

I really like working for companies in finance. They're generally laid back and the pay is decent, not great.

Re: Ask HN: Amazon software engineers, how is the work culture now?

#185

Post by pc86 »

rurban wrote: post #156
akerro wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Either your friends are emotionally unstable or should report abuse and leave the company. Seriously, why be so unhappy with your workplace? Do they work in North Korea?

Happens in South Korea and Japan also.

I don't think I could make up a better example of missing the point if I tried.

Re: Ask HN: Amazon software engineers, how is the work culture now?

#186

Post by not_real_acct »

cylinder wrote: post #112
sadamznintern wrote: post #37

I interned at Amazon last year in the Alexa org (non-frontline team in ML). My team was rarely in the office before 10:30 or after 6, even during crunch time (we launched our feature during my internship) but i did see code review responses at odd hours sometimes. I enjoyed the project a bunch, and while my coworkers werent the most social bunch they were pretty smart and effective. I did pretty well and exceeded man…

This guy is obviously some sort of satirical troll. Stop feeding it.

I'm thinking the same thing. I've never met a 25yo who complains about making $145K a year.

Re: Ask HN: Amazon software engineers, how is the work culture now?

#187

Post by codeonfire »

jonhendry18 wrote: post #99
codeonfire wrote: post #34

Thanks to linked in, I saw who was on a 1st level connection with the ex-director there who was arrested for running ads for prostitutes in Bellevue. Those 1st level contacts are still there and in higher positions now. Being 1st level on linkedin doesn't mean they are the same character or were part of the crime, but they are all in management positions. I emailed some women that still worked there and told them the…

That's a really bizarre way of thinking. 1st level connection doesn't mean personally close. Are you willing to be held responsible for the misdeeds your own 1st level connections might get up to?

1st level and in the same small org. People that would have known, interviewed, and hired the person. Companies don't just hire rando's of the street they know nothing about into high management positions.

Re: Ask HN: Amazon software engineers, how is the work culture now?

#188

Post by sokoloff »

leohutson wrote: post #124
sokoloff wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> No hiring manager looking at resumes is going to put any stock into whether it says Google, Amazon or FB, or what school you went to. Even if the hiring manager won't, it's a fairly safe bet that the filtering stages prior to it landing on a manager's desk will be looking at those things. Have you never been approached by a recruiter talking to you about how excited they are about "the Netflix guy" or the "Stanford…

The recruiter is not usually empowered to filter a qualified candidate because they "only" worked at Amazon though, especially not if they made a good impression at Amazon and come with a referral. I don't think anyone with a final say cares what the recruiter says beyond here's a list of CVs, they usually aren't qualified to go much deeper, but if they are, they aren't ranking companies based on what juniors on prog…

It's not just active filtering of inbound resumes. Recruiters target their outbound searches by technology, keywords, companies, and universities. (Source: I am a hiring manager and I work closely with the recruiters who sit a few desks away.)

Re: Ask HN: Amazon software engineers, how is the work culture now?

#189

Post by codeonfire »

akerro wrote: post #144
codeonfire wrote: post #34

Thanks to linked in, I saw who was on a 1st level connection with the ex-director there who was arrested for running ads for prostitutes in Bellevue. Those 1st level contacts are still there and in higher positions now. Being 1st level on linkedin doesn't mean they are the same character or were part of the crime, but they are all in management positions. I emailed some women that still worked there and told them the…

What did you say? - Hello, I stalked your supervisor, he's in a business of prostitution, you should leave your work.

First you're goddamned right I stalk all those shady people. And yes, I said something like, one of the management associates was charged with pimping out sex-trafficked women, I think maybe you should find a safer place to work.

Re: Ask HN: Amazon software engineers, how is the work culture now?

#190

Post by codeonfire »

jonhendry18 wrote: post #100
codeonfire wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To answer your question, I hope it has changed. I was uneasy there with how managers would chat up the young women employees in their offices (with the sliding roller doors) for hours. In a few instances I felt uneasy with the way some people were obviously drooling in close proximity to women, staring, etc. That's what you get when there is tons of alcohol in the office. If the place has not changed I would recommen…

" I was uneasy there with how managers would chat up the young women employees in their offices (with the sliding roller doors) for hours" Maybe they were, you know, working together.

Yeah, I considered that, managers there are always trying to hire women they want to fuck and have heard anecdotes of interns who think using sex will get them a full time position. This was not that case.
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