Their recruiting process is very onerous too. Very hard to get people who are well paid to even interview when they know it’s so much work, only to get a pay cut.
It seems in line with competing companies.
Amazon more than doubles max base pay to $350k
291–300 of 462 posts
Re: Amazon more than doubles max base pay to $350k
#292Judging from what an insider in the HR org told me, we're going to be hearing a lot of stories like this going forward. Apparently, Amazon scale is so large and their attrition rates are so bad that in some markets, every potentially qualified candidate has already applied and failed an interview, or previously worked at Amazon and quit. As the adage goes, necessity is the mother of invention and Amazon seems to be a…
FWIW, Netflix basically has a slider, where you can take from 0% to 100% of your salary in options vs in cash. You get to decide once a year during a sort of "open enrollment" (like how you choose health care plans).
What a great idea. I feel like this would let you make the choice on an annual basis based on your goals for the year, lifestyle needs, etc.
Re: Amazon more than doubles max base pay to $350k
#293Will Amazon at any point start considering hiring more engineers from countries that command lesser salaries like Brazil/EU than they do US engineers? Why do US engineers command such higher salaries?
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Re: Amazon more than doubles max base pay to $350k
#294Earlier quoted context omitted.
As the adage goes, necessity is the mother of invention and Amazon seems to be at a point where it really needs to try everything under the sun to try to attract talent, given their extremely poor reputation. So rather than address the problems that are giving rise to this extremely poor reputation and commensurate attrition rates -- the only "fix" that Amazon can think of is to offer people more cash so that the net…
It's a start. Many other companies haven't gotten the weird idea that people like to be paid more money or they go elsewhere to find more money. At the end of the day, it's a job. And jobs that pay the most usually recruits the best. If they're looking at $350k base salary plus incentives, I may give them another look, especially if I can still do WFH.
What is unimpeachable is that jobs that compensate the best can recruit the best. But that compensation isn't merely a cash amount - it also includes public perception about the ethics of the business (which will vary from person to person), expected quality of life while working (including the caliber of coworker you'll be interacting with) and expected interest - all among many other factors.
Monetary compensation is certainly important and, if driven high enough, can account for extremely poor scores in other areas - but most people will tend to be pretty holistic about their job search. If I posted a job with a 700k compensation that was accompanied by constant 24/7 stress and existential dread you'd be surprised how many senior people would pass on that opportunity.
Re: Amazon more than doubles max base pay to $350k
#295I get contacted by Amazon recruiters multiple times a week. Now that I'm actively looking for a job, I thought I'd give them a chance. It would be good interview practice at the very least. So I take the online assessment and it turns out that one of the questions was a LeetCode Hard. Like... what? Did they want me to fail?
Re: Amazon more than doubles max base pay to $350k
#296Earlier quoted context omitted.
My Amazon offer from last year was one of my highest ($500K first year TC for senior SWE in Seattle). Amazon has trouble retaining talent but I doubt compensation is the real cause (at least for recent hires).
they are starting to do better, but from folks i know who have gotten offers from Amazon/Netflix/Google/Apple/FB, Amazon is consistently 10-20% less than the top (usually FB after several rounds of negotiation..)
I believe Amazon significantly increased their offers last year. FB was one of my other offers and they couldn’t match my top offers after negotiation, so I just declined. That being said, it is possible that a combination of my location (Seattle) and career stage (upper side of Senior level) are at play here.
Re: Amazon more than doubles max base pay to $350k
#297Earlier quoted context omitted.
You work there 3 years and you'll earn a million bucks. Plenty of life to live after that and a lot of money to do whatever it is you want. Many people are willing to make that tradeoff, perhaps not you though.
Plenty of life to live after that and a lot of money to do whatever it is you want. If your children hate you or you lose the love of your life -- or you ruin your health -- then what's the point of all that money and free time?
Ruining your health is an aspect that I think gets far too little attention. If you're honestly working 16hr days your quality of life is going to absolutely tank and you'll be paying serious interest on the damage you do to your heart, back, eyes and wrists for decades to come.
Re: Amazon more than doubles max base pay to $350k
#298This is a nice step towards paying a living wage.
Re: Amazon more than doubles max base pay to $350k
#299Earlier quoted context omitted.
As the adage goes, necessity is the mother of invention and Amazon seems to be at a point where it really needs to try everything under the sun to try to attract talent, given their extremely poor reputation. So rather than address the problems that are giving rise to this extremely poor reputation and commensurate attrition rates -- the only "fix" that Amazon can think of is to offer people more cash so that the net…
N.B. I have a strong conflict of interest in this conversation, will leave the reason as an exercise for the reader to figure out. Amazon have launched more successful non-core businesses than any other big tech company. I suspect there's a belief throughout the company that qualities of the culture that lead to high attrition rates are the same qualities that breed revenue growth and success. In turn, that explains…
Could some of that simply be because Amazon has always had non-tech competencies?
Microsoft, Google, Facebook, etc. Those have always been pure tech plays. Amazon started out competing with Barnes and Noble.
But yes, I get what you mean. Companies are very reluctant to change the secret sauce.
Re: Amazon more than doubles max base pay to $350k
#300Earlier quoted context omitted.
TC includes salary, stock, and bonus pre-tax. It doesn’t include 401k, medical, food or other fringe benefits.
It doesn’t include 401k, medical Ahh interesting, I assumed it included things like bonuses and equity, but am surprised to learn 401k contributions are not considered TC. Is this the case even for matched contributions made by the employer? Meaning if I contribute x (money I was compensated already as a portion of salary), and employer contributes %/x (money the company effectively "gives" me), is that percentage no…
It's a factor one ought to consider - but at the salary ranges that we're typically talking about and at the typical match levels most employers offer, including 401K contributions doesn't change the math much, so it's mostly not counted.
For example, an employer who does a 1:1 match up to the IRS limit would be contributing at most ~$20K to your total comp, but when you're dealing with the rest of the package being in the $500K-1M range it tends to get glossed over.