Hello there, I'm currently working as an SDE 1 at Amazon. Before joining, my experience was primarily in Data Science, so transitioning to a Software Development Engineer role was a significant change for me. However, I've encountered challenges within my current team. There's been very little support available, particularly when I've reached out for assistance. Unfortunately, my lead is unresponsive, and when they do reply, it's often in an aggressive manner. As a result, I've been forced to figure things out on my own, relying heavily on my own research. The tasks assigned to me sometimes lack clarity, and I've found myself working on projects for other teams or even different organizational tasks. Additionally, I've been tasked with working in various codebases with programming languages that I'm not familiar with. Despite these challenges, there's a constant expectation to deliver on time, often requiring me to work weekends and attend numerous calls. I haven't had the opportunity to focus on a single service properly as I'm frequently asked to redesign projects and provide knowledge transfer sessions on those redesigns. Despite my efforts, there's been minimal recognition or appreciation from my manager. Instead, there's a constant demand for more without acknowledging the work I've already done. I have aspirations to transition into management, and I'm considering pursuing an MBA from a top business school in the next 3-4 years. However, my current situation has made it challenging to envision this path. Despite my efforts to schedule 1:1 meetings with my manager and team lead, they've been consistently unresponsive or have canceled at the last minute with various excuses. Originally hired for an SDE ML role, I was later shifted to a different organization due to unforeseen circumstances. Despite adapting to this change, I feel undervalued and unsupported in my current role. Even after applying for internal roles in an attempt to initiate discussions with my manager, the feedback I received was focused solely on improving my performance. Overall, my experience in my team has been disheartening, and I'm unsure of how to proceed. I believe there's potential for growth and contribution, but the lack of support and recognition has made it difficult for me to thrive in this environment. If there are any open roles out there in any of your teams, I am happy to connect with you guys. #engineering #software #swe #amazon
How long have you been in the same team? I’d look into switching teams. It’ll likely delay your promotion to SDE 2 but I’d trust your gut. Your team doesn’t sound good for you.
Yeah, I am interviewing for other teams, it’s been over 9 months since I joined Amazon and was in the same team.
Leave. This is Amazon’s toxic culture at its finest, and you are more than likely being set up for Focus to meet the PIP quota. It’s unfortunate, but I don’t think you can reconcile your situation with the team, and trying to work as hard as you can will only burn yourself out. The market is somewhat getting better based on your YOE, but I would start looking immediately and follow the standard process for dealing with Amazon if anything happens. Good luck, OP. TC: 105K
Genuine question: What’s the standard process? 🤔
@OP I agree ☝️. Also you’re DS, you should continue the DS route. All the best!