Should I join Amazon India for 25% hike?
I am really worried about the work culture, instability at job and job security.
I am not a thick skinned person.
I find myself mentally not very strong, I get stressed out a lot over little things.
Given all my shortcomings should I still take the risk of joining Amazon.
What do you people recommend?
YOE: 8
Level:62
Level offered : L5
Current TC: 36 LPA
Location: India
comments
I’d like to know why you want to make the switch though (unless I know your motivations I can’t suggest anything concrete)
Long answer:
First of all, arrange to talk to the engineers in the team. Most managers at Amazon will allow this. Get an honest feedback about the team, the operational load, working hours etc. If you're not satisfied, don't join. If you're extremely satisfied, go ahead. I still think it's better to turn it down mostly because of the following points:
1. 25% is a good pay bump, but there are other companies in Hyderabad that will pay you more and give you a Senior role if you're already at Microsoft. For example, Indeed would give you a senior role and can easily give you a 35-50% pay bump over your current pay. It also has a great work culture from what I hear. You can try Apple, Uber, Salesforce, DE Shaw which might take you at a similar level but give you 30-45% pay hikes with better WLB
2. Once you join Amazon at L5, you are basically starting over again as SDE2. It is hard, and has a lot of competition in India to make it to Senior. In Microsoft since you are already at 62, I think it's better you try to get to 63 and negotiate offers at a higher level outside.
3. Amazon has a concept of TCT (refer: https://www.teamblind.com/article/How-refreshers”-work-at-Amazon-pVJmPiL4) - which essentially states that unless you get a promotion, your compensation will remain the same for 4 years and then it will drop. On the contrary, there's a good pay hike when you become L63 at Microsoft, your target performance bonus becomes 15% (0-30% of base is the range), your refreshers also increase from 0-19000$ at L62, to I think 0-32000$ at L63 (I'm not sure of the L63 number, but it's at least this much)
4. You can also try other teams at Microsoft, like Azure, which have good work. If you have issues about WLB, not mentally strong etc. then Amazon is not the place for you. I was in your place a few years ago, except it was a 50% hike for me and I was L61 at Microsoft. I spoke to a friend who's a senior manager at Amazon, and I had same concerns as yours concerning WLB because I had a girlfriend and some hobbies and I didn't want to sacrifice them. He said one thing that made a lot of sense -
"Amazon has a very polarizing culture. You either feel extremely at home there, or you will hate it. And your gut tells you usually which of those two things you belong to". That helped me make up my mind and turn down their offer.
Keep an open mind, there are lots of good companies out there where you can learn, have a life outside of work and don't have to give up on mental peace :)
Hope this helps. Sorry for the extremely long post!
Long answer: noooooooooooooooooooo.
Do not join this company.
Sounds like preparation for war zone. Do you focus on work or just focus on winning debates?
I don't know how are the perks in India but in US amazon provides zero perks so when you compare to CTC then MS wins hands down when with 25% hike.
Disclaimer: worked in amazon for 3 years.
Nothing about it sounds pleasant or stress-free