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I Got Fired from Amazon as a Software Development Engineer

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Re: I Got Fired from Amazon as a Software Development Engineer

#51

Post by allenrb »

xwowsersx wrote: post #11
hackernews777 wrote: post #4

If you got fired over this it's highly likely you said something pretty bad. The only times I have seen anyone get instafired at Amazon is when they have done something that could be deemed as harassment. (eg. making sexual or racial advancements towards a direct report) Anybody else who gets fired for performance reasons knows they are thin ice for a long time.

what is a racial advancement?

I’m reasonably sure they got “advances” and “harassment” jumbled up. Ie, both “(unwanted) sexual advances” and “sexual harassment” are things, but only “racial harassment” is a thing.

At least, I think so. Sometimes the world changes while I’m looking the other way.

Re: I Got Fired from Amazon as a Software Development Engineer

#52

Post by moron4hire »

999900000999 wrote: post #25

These stories scare me. Particularly from Amazon where you don't get most of your TC until year 3. At least at Netflix they pay more cash and if I get fired after a year I have it in my bank.

Absolutely. And that's just your base. Every year, you're getting more and more that don't vest until this range of time that is so incredibly far out on tech industry scales.

This is what kept me out of Amazon. The over-emphasis on RSUs for compensation was clearly a half-scam designed to avoid paying full salary out to people and to try to squeeze anyone who was on the fence about leaving.

Re: I Got Fired from Amazon as a Software Development Engineer

#54

Post by asow92 »

asow92 wrote: post #46
hackernews777 wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "FAANG" companies that OP mentions have a smug sense of superiority. I think it is the opposite. No one is going to fire you over shipping a kludge or low quality software, especially when you document why it is the case. People get themselves into trouble by getting emotionally invested in their work and avoiding the task at hand. If someone gives you an idiotic task at Amazon, give them an idiotic solution. You a…

I believe what you're saying, and also wonder if OP got too emotionally invested.

Also, to be honest, your new account status and username are a little suspect. Do you have some sort of affiliation with Amazon?

Re: I Got Fired from Amazon as a Software Development Engineer

#55

Post by tinyhouse »

Sparkyte wrote: post #10

Amazon is actually really hard to get fired from. I knew this one guy who used to binge drink during while working all day. He only got fired after he brought production down for the third time in six months. I left because I had higher pay offers. I'm an idiot to say the least, but a person who can acknowledge their faults is likely to be someone who gets hired persistently because they know to address it.

That's actually very false. Amazon is not hard to get fired from, but it takes time since there's a mandatory pip process (for performance based firing) like in many tech companies (about 4 months in the US, longer in some European countries; it's often shorter if the candidate agrees to take large severance and leave).

Re: I Got Fired from Amazon as a Software Development Engineer

#56

Post by moron4hire »

yummy_box wrote: post #3

I also work at Amazon, and I can tell you, your experience was pretty unique. Some teams are worst than others, of course, but no one expect you to pick up a project by yourself, fresh out of onboarding and own it end to end. After you clear your interview loops, you get the chance to match with several teams (not always) and that is your chance to figure out what the team does, whats the situation over there, etc...…

There is always someone coming into the thread to say "that's not been my experience". Frankly, the company is so large, how could you know? When you get a situation like the article describes, you could be sitting a desk over from the guy and still never know. I've seen dozens of stories just like this of toxic behavior at Amazon. It makes it sound like they have their flagship projects that they use to attract developers and a long tail of drudge work they need to attrit through developers to get done.

Re: I Got Fired from Amazon as a Software Development Engineer

#57

Post by treis »

rkk3 wrote: post #23
endisneigh wrote: post #9

I won’t comment on whether the action is justified or not in this instance, but: Never hang up on a colleague. Ever. As far as social phone etiquette goes that’s probably one of the most egregious things you can do. Instead, humble yourself, politely disagree and document over email, copying another colleague who witnessed, or if unavailable the manager (in this case the skip).

IDK they probably would have been better off if they ended the conversation earlier rather than "giving their manager a piece of their mind" & then hanging up. If a conversation is getting too heated, excusing yourself and taking a beat isn't the worst thing in the world.

Both are certainly bold choices.

Re: I Got Fired from Amazon as a Software Development Engineer

#58

Post by hackernews777 »

asow92 wrote: post #46
hackernews777 wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "FAANG" companies that OP mentions have a smug sense of superiority. I think it is the opposite. No one is going to fire you over shipping a kludge or low quality software, especially when you document why it is the case. People get themselves into trouble by getting emotionally invested in their work and avoiding the task at hand. If someone gives you an idiotic task at Amazon, give them an idiotic solution. You a…

I believe what you're saying, and also wonder if OP got too emotionally invested.

A person would be wise to not admit working for a company when their comments go against company policy on public comments.

Re: I Got Fired from Amazon as a Software Development Engineer

#59

Post by hackandtrip »

Sparkyte wrote: post #10

Amazon is actually really hard to get fired from. I knew this one guy who used to binge drink during while working all day. He only got fired after he brought production down for the third time in six months. I left because I had higher pay offers. I'm an idiot to say the least, but a person who can acknowledge their faults is likely to be someone who gets hired persistently because they know to address it.

The fact that an individual can bring production down is 1000% a problem in the process; outages should not attributed to single commits but to a series of problems in the process. Just saying this since the number of times someone being production down should not be cause of shame or firing

Re: I Got Fired from Amazon as a Software Development Engineer

#60

Post by asow92 »

hackernews777 wrote: post #58
asow92 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe what you're saying, and also wonder if OP got too emotionally invested.

A person would be wise to not admit working for a company when their comments go against company policy on public comments.

Understood and appreciated. Thank you.
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