Was there any change from the time New York Times article was published? And does the pay + stock compensate for the bad work culture (if there is?)
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?
#2depends on team
Re: Ask HN: Amazon software engineers, how is the work culture now?
#3Moved 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.
Re: Ask HN: Amazon software engineers, how is the work culture now?
#4Moved 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.
And, I'm already making 50% more at Google than I was at Amazon, after a bit more than a year.
Re: Ask HN: Amazon software engineers, how is the work culture now?
#5New entries are still being added, so probably great https://sites.google.com/site/thefaceofamazon/home
Re: Ask HN: Amazon software engineers, how is the work culture now?
#6Moved 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.
Mind if I ask what team(s) you were on at Amazon? Looking to avoid the worst.
I’m starting to get the impression, though, that if I want to be happiest as a Big Tech Co. engineer, I really just need to work at Google.
Re: Ask HN: Amazon software engineers, how is the work culture now?
#7Amazon has taken steps to prevent abusive behavior from occurring, such as creating a process for engineers to challenge managerial pips and allowing engineers to transfer while on development plans. In my opinion, these steps seem more like treating the symptom than the cause. The overall culture remains the same. Engineers are still treated by management as resources to be allocated, and for me, this is the hardest pill to swallow. Even though my manager, my skip, and my peers tell me I do good work, at the end of the day, I feel that all I am is X capacity points per sprint. The feeling of being disposable in the huge machine that is Amazon is quite depressing.
Re: Ask HN: Amazon software engineers, how is the work culture now?
#8Moved 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.
And, I'm already making 50% more at Google than I was at Amazon, after a bit more than a year.
That self brutalization stuff works on people who needs outside approval to feel good, and it's encouraged behavior in specially American culture to work hard and compete your entire life.
Sounds pretty terrible to me. When are you supposed to enjoy life if you are in constant competition?
Re: Ask HN: Amazon software engineers, how is the work culture now?
#9Out 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.
Re: Ask HN: Amazon software engineers, how is the work culture now?
#10Amazon has taken steps to prevent abusive behavior from occurring, such as creating a process for engineers to challenge managerial pips and allowing engineers to transfer while on development plans. In my opinion, these steps seem more like treating the symptom than the cause. The overall culture remains the same. Engineers are still treated by management as resources to be allocated, and for me, this is the hardest…
You are.
The software engineer profession is becoming like traditional factory workers, only this time they have ping pong tables and free snacks. Also the salary is very high. But the downside is that you are still at the bottom of the pyramid.