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I left Amazon due to RTO. They hired me as a fully remote employee (I was told that the VP of Prime US was one of those who signed off on my remote arrangement)

I left Amazon due to RTO. They hired me as a fully remote employee (I was told that the VP of Prime US was one of those who signed off on my remote arrangement). Anyway, a year later, they asked me to move to Seattle or Virginia (wherever their second office is) or Chicago (there's only like one or two directors from my team located there; most of the team are located in Seattle or Virginia). I started looking for a remote job and in 3 months, I was out. Things I didn't like about Amazon: - you get paid once a month (basically, you'll letting the company use your money for free) - if I remember correctly, you get your RSUs vested at the end of the year for the second year (I think it's like 20% of your total comp) - your comp is heavily reliant on RSUs for the third and fourth year AND the base salary was below 200K - some of the things they do are cult-y - too much writing instead of building prototypes - some folks there practice resume-driven development regardless of whether it's actually good for the org/group in terms of maintainability, simplicity, etc. Having said that, I met good coworkers and worked in a good team (luckily) although our on-calls were sometimes brutal (like hundreds of tickets a week during the on-call).

illusive4080 1y ago
Below 200? And here I thought I’d at least make a pretty penny if I left my comfortable job for a tech company
- jedberg 1y ago
  Amazon is odd that way. Everyone has a base that low, even VPs. All of the comp is in RSUs and hiring bonus for the first two years. Even someone with a total comp of $1M a year will have a base salary of $250K, and a hiring bonus of $700K a year, and then RSUs that in theory make up the rest, as long as AMZN goes up at least 15% per year. When the stock was on a tear, some people would make 2x or 3x their expected total comp. But on down stock years, you could end up at 80% of the promised comp.
  - coredog64 1y ago
    Until circa 2022 (IIRC), the absolute maximum cash comp even for someone like Jassy was $180K. They lifted that and then the next year made the RSU comp even worse (e.g. limiting your upside on annual grants by focusing on out year 1)
    - jedberg 1y ago
      It was $160K until 2022. I started in 2022 right after the limit was doubled, but they weren't giving anyone the full $320K because they "wanted to leave room for base salary growth".
  - illusive4080 1y ago
    Ahh ok so on an average year you do make a substantial amount.
IshKebab 1y ago
> you get paid once a month I've never worked anywhere that didn't do this (in the UK). Are you suggesting they should pay more often? Is that normal in the US? > AND the base salary was below 200K Oh no! You guys are in for a shock if developer wages ever become more "normal" there (i.e. closer to the rest of the world).
- bravetraveler 1y ago
  Twice a month is the usual trend here in the States. This sounds like the types that enjoy a big tax refund, ignoring they had it to begin with. Unless adjusting tax withholdings, one also gives a free short term loan to Uncle Sam regardless of the cycle. Contrived. At a point this is admitting a failure or unwillingness to budget.

illusive4080 1y ago

Below 200? And here I thought I’d at least make a pretty penny if I left my comfortable job for a tech company

jedberg 1y ago
Amazon is odd that way. Everyone has a base that low, even VPs. All of the comp is in RSUs and hiring bonus for the first two years. Even someone with a total comp of $1M a year will have a base salary of $250K, and a hiring bonus of $700K a year, and then RSUs that in theory make up the rest, as long as AMZN goes up at least 15% per year. When the stock was on a tear, some people would make 2x or 3x their expected total comp. But on down stock years, you could end up at 80% of the promised comp.
- coredog64 1y ago
  Until circa 2022 (IIRC), the absolute maximum cash comp even for someone like Jassy was $180K. They lifted that and then the next year made the RSU comp even worse (e.g. limiting your upside on annual grants by focusing on out year 1)
  - jedberg 1y ago
    It was $160K until 2022. I started in 2022 right after the limit was doubled, but they weren't giving anyone the full $320K because they "wanted to leave room for base salary growth".
- illusive4080 1y ago
  Ahh ok so on an average year you do make a substantial amount.

IshKebab 1y ago

> you get paid once a month I've never worked anywhere that didn't do this (in the UK). Are you suggesting they should pay more often? Is that normal in the US? > AND the base salary was below 200K Oh no! You guys are in for a shock if developer wages ever become more "normal" there (i.e. closer to the rest of the world).

bravetraveler 1y ago
Twice a month is the usual trend here in the States. This sounds like the types that enjoy a big tax refund, ignoring they had it to begin with. Unless adjusting tax withholdings, one also gives a free short term loan to Uncle Sam regardless of the cycle. Contrived. At a point this is admitting a failure or unwillingness to budget.