Amazon v Residency v Contractor for new grad
I've got a full-time offer from Amazon with it's standard package, an offer from a laid-back defense contractor around ~77k, and possibly an Engineering Residency with Google. It seems like the Amazon offer is the best to start a career with and improve my resume with, but I highly value work-life balance. I've heard almost exclusively bad things about Amazon's work-life balance, and good things about Google's balance. Is it insane to take a 1-year contract with Google over good full-time offers? Also, does a year of full time experience at big defense contractors help get interviews at high-paying tech companies? Google and Amazon were the only competitive companies to give me a chance out of school, and I'm not sure a defense contractor on my resume would improve things at all. TC: 0
Go to Google. You shouldn't have a problem getting interviews after even if they don't bring you on. WLB will most likely be better as well, you're right. Defense on a tech resume is somewhere between no effect to a negative depending on who interviews you. This is because of cultural differences and because of the stereotype of government work being low skill and low effort
Google, you get good $$âs, three shots to convert to full time, you get to choose your team and best of all you get to choose locations like NYC which are pretty much off limits to new grads who arenât returning interns. Even in the end if you somehow donât convert to full time , you get Google on your resume and can still interview at top notch places during your residency.
If work/life balance truly is important to you, donât go with Amazon. They can offer great things in other areas but work/life balance isnât one of them
I would choose Google because new grad hiring at Amazon is a complete mess with high attrition rates. They don't even bring you onsite, and they don't even let you choose team/org/location ffs!
Well Google Residency > Amazon SDE seem unanimous, but if Google doesn't work out: what about a 77k defense contractor with relaxed WLB in med/high COL area vs Amazon?