Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Software Engineering Internship Amazon Interview Experience

rajk.me

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

321–330 of 441 posts

Re: Software Engineering Internship Amazon Interview Experience

#321

Post by thr0waway1239 »

I would love if someone built a Chrome extension which highlights comments from folks self-identifying as working at the companies mentioned in the story.

For one, the general radio silence around ethical issues from the same folks who jump in with gusto on technical issues is both the most fascinating and the most creepy thing I have seen recently, and I am guessing the signal (people debating ethics) over noise (people debating technicals) ratio is low when you consider the implications of people taking these things for granted.

I guess someone will be asking if the signal and noise should be the other way around, given that HN is mainly for discussing technical issues. Maybe, but it emboldens the general attitude from these folks, which I will sum up thus:

"We have more insight into this issue than you because we are on the inside. We are probably smart enough to know what we are doing because we are working at these companies in the first place. And no one really knows the answer to these questions anyway, so what is the use discussing them endlessly?"

Another way to rephrase the above is: "We know what is best for you, and if you are questioning this assumption, you are just hating".

This reminds me of Eric Schmidt's comment on privacy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6e7wfDHzew

Re: Software Engineering Internship Amazon Interview Experience

#322

Post by amzn-336495 »

mbfg wrote: post #111

Ok so lets say i get this job at Big Brother Amazon. They give me my first assignment. I find a way to 'cheat' such that i finish the project in record time and it is perfect. You don't want that? What the hell does cheating mean in software development.

> What the hell does cheating mean in software development.

Management. At Amazon there are literally thousands of managers that don't know what the hell they are doing just waiting for you to code up something they can take credit for and keep their jobs. They hired YOU to do a real project that they can't cheat. If there was a cheat they would have already done it or gotten one of Amazons 15,000 other devs to do it. If they hire you its some combination of no one else can do it or no one better wants to expend the effort in a long drawn out assignment with low payoff.

Lets say you are smarter than 15,000 other people and actually found a cheat. Congratulations, that cheat is now the baseline expectations. You better have more tricks up your sleeve.

Re: Software Engineering Internship Amazon Interview Experience

#323

Post by Tempest1981 »

kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #212
dgritsko wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Why not do an onsite if you want to make sure of the validity? Convenience and logistics. Is it worth yours (or Amazon's) time to pay for travel expenses, when applicants could literally be located anywhere? Evidently not, at least not in the early stages of the process.

Is it worth any applicant's time to participate in a silly dehumanizing screening process that boils you down to a number before ever speaking to someone?

It must work (to some extent), for Amazon to use it. And like mailing spam, the cost to them is near zero.

Re: Software Engineering Internship Amazon Interview Experience

#324

Post by Tempest1981 »

fattire wrote: post #233
relics443 wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you're reading too much into this. It's to make sure that the interviewee isn't trying to game the system. Pretty simple. You can opt-out anytime you want. You don't even have to start in the first place. It's not spying by any definition of the word. Unless you make one up for it.

I understand that the goal is to stop cheaters. That's an admirable goal, and a perfectly legit one. However it's the completely wrong way to do it and sends a very strong message to anyone applying that "our company, for any reason that serves our interest, expect you to be compliant, to give up your personal privacy, and to submit to our invasive internal processes whenever we feel it's necessary. Expect more." Ask…

It's probably the cheapest and most efficient way to screen candidates, and ensure accuracy. Not disagreeing with you -- just saying that their primary goal is probably efficiency (no surprise).

Re: Software Engineering Internship Amazon Interview Experience

#325

Post by lucasmullens »

manacit wrote: post #94

By all means, this is not unique to Amazon - not that it makes it any better. I did a post-grad interview for Epic (epic.com - healthcare software) in a similar fashion, that was at least as draconian. After passing a 15 minute phone screen, they sent me a link to a service that: * Installed their proprietary software on my Mac * Connected me to a real person who verified my DL against who they were expecting * Had m…

Epic asked for my ACT score...

Re: Software Engineering Internship Amazon Interview Experience

#326

Post by lucb1e »

kuschku wrote: post #270
sperglord wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why not just put a second laptop on your desk?

They have a human watch you all the time through the camera, so they’d notice if you look anywhere else. And they require you to show them all around your room first, to prevent that. That’s why you install the system below the desk, and use it that way.

> And they require you to show them all around your room first, to prevent that.

Holy hell, did I miss that or wasn't it mentioned? This might even be the most invasive of all.

Re: Software Engineering Internship Amazon Interview Experience

#327

Post by [deleted] »

dgritsko wrote: post #206
chipperyman573 wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I took a test with ProctorU a few months ago for my university class. It didn't seem creepy at all. They installed LogMeIn and watched my webcam, but as soon as the exam was over they disabled both. It's just a way of making sure there isn't any cheating.

Yep, and a pretty convenient one at that. When using these services, the effortlessness of taking a test in the comfort of my own home (at a time that worked for my schedule) outweighed privacy concerns, although I certainly empathize with those that don't feel the same way.

[deleted]

Re: Software Engineering Internship Amazon Interview Experience

#328

Post by Tempest1981 »

chipperyman573 wrote: post #200
dgritsko wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's worth noting that these are Proctorio's ( https://proctorio.com/ ) restrictions; they're just a third-party company that Amazon is using to administer the test. I've used a couple of similar systems (e.g. ProctorU - https://www.proctoru.com/ , where a human will actually watch you via webcam(!), or ProctorTrack - http://www.proctortrack.com/ ), and "monitoring" of this sort is pretty much par for the course (no…

I took a test with ProctorU a few months ago for my university class. It didn't seem creepy at all. They installed LogMeIn and watched my webcam, but as soon as the exam was over they disabled both. It's just a way of making sure there isn't any cheating.

Seems like we're ok with using technology for telepresence, but would prefer standard apps like Skype or google hangouts. The question is why standard apps aren't sufficient.

Re: Software Engineering Internship Amazon Interview Experience

#330

Post by papaf »

abc_lisper wrote: post #209
rtjs wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you please give me some sources that explain how it is unethical? (I am aware of the NYTimes article which explains how badly they treat their employees, but that doesn't necessarily translate to unethical development .) I ask because I am about to join them, so forewarned is forearmed.

> I am about to join them, so forewarned is forearmed. I didn't go there, but here's some i found on the net. https://sites.google.com/site/thefaceofamazon/home

That's quite shocking. I saw this in the advice section:

https://sites.google.com/site/thefaceofamazon/home/don-t-acc...

Please don't accept your offer. PLEASE don't go there. Your brains will not be wasted at Amazon, but your life will be. And no one will care.

Post reply on HN