What's the best way to go about this without losing ties to Amazon. I have no professional experience as a software engineer but am interested in it as a career choice. Is school the only option??
Were supposed to be open and flexible so that people can find the job they want that makes them happy. Interview for the role and if you get it, great! Just know if you are an l6 and coming into entry level l4 knowledge it's gonna be hard to meet the bar at a higher level. But an l4 sde might make more than certain l6m in low rent roles like distribution center stuff (no offense to those guys that actually work for a living you just get paid less and live in cheaper parts of the country).
Are there non-manager roles there that are a little closer to engineering, roles that would at least help with exposure and expertise? I moved from M1 to an IC in a more data driven role. Didn't put me right into the fire, but it allowed me to use my M skill set, forced me to learn the tech, and helped me gain exposure to the more technical reporting/analysis role I volunteered for a year
the issue is I am currently working in operations at AMZL. I feel there is a lot of opportunities to grown with this side of Amazon being so young and experimental. I just might not be getting the type of exposure I need to transition into an engineering role.
I would say start the learning outside of your day to day. Don't lose your current opportunity. Then as you start learning engineering, try to leverage your contacts in Amazon to get some mentorship. Once you feel your skills are where they need to be for an engineer role, apply for the position you want at Amazon. This is a slow process, but doesn't require you to lose your current role at Amazon. Also, you might find you actually hate engineering along the way! Cheers and good luck.
Quit
I'd suggest getting your feet wet with some coding first. There are plenty of resources online that will assist you. You can also use the resources that are available in the company! Ask if there's something simple you could do in your down time.
There is a mentoring program at Amazon. Lots of internal development resources available too. If you want to make a change you need to start learning the basics on your own and the find somebody who will give you some advice on taking it to the next level.
Are you sure you want to give up cushy management job for gruntwork though?
working logistics operations as a manager is not cushy.
There are no real big players near me, but if I worked at one and wanted to learn software development, why not start building your own project with all the resources you get from your job?
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Normally the transition is the other way. Being a manager at Amazon, your in a unique position. If you wish to stay at Amazon, learn the technologies that Amazon is using and begin practicing. Use your free resources available and then offer development assistance to an internal team, providing its permitted with Amazon policy? Engineer requires an analytical mind while design requires an visual mind.