AWS CSE
Any aws support engineers here How is your daily routine.Do you find it interesting. I have seen mixed responses from glasdoor and reddit but don't seem like first hand experiences. #software
It depends on what type of person you are and what profile you're on. I'm in the Database profile and being that I actually enjoy databases it's interesting for me. However January they lowered the bar so the new breed of CSA/CSEs coming in can annoy you a bit. The job is interesting but the only part I don't like is the metrics because even someone with barely any skills can meet those metrics. Overall? I enjoy the work, and it has great WLB. However the enjoyment of the work has to do a lot with the team that you're on and your manager.
Hi @OPSy50 do you mind if I dm you
Not a problem, go ahead
My routine is come into work and join a pointless standup about new things that are broken in our service. Then take a look at the queue and see if there any easy live contacts (LCs) to grab. If there is an annoying customer or extremely difficult case most people avoid it and wait in a different status until someone takes it or the customer gives up waiting (we can see the cases waiting to be picked up and work out which one we will get). Sometimes I have other things to do like interviews or training which can take up alot of time and dont allow me to take an LC in case it runs long. Other times managers or TAMs will be barking in our group channel trying to stick an engineer with an escalation which almost always is a bad idea. Overall once you know the game its easy to hit resolves and game the system to get easier cases.I have found the more leeway you give to customers the more they walk all over you. You have to be clear that we dont support code and we wont build their cloud infra for them. They need to learn it or hire an SA. Sometimes I get to work cool projects and do something longer term but training and extra things have been cut since its so busy and we cannot handle the load. This isnt a new thing either and it happens every few months where they only let you do LCs. Overall not a bad gig but people burn out due to the customer service aspect. The queue never goes down and the customers are never happy and that burns people out. I also agree with OPSy50 since last summer we have been hiring worse candidates and it shows. More time to train and worse customer experience. Almost constant turnover not due to PIP but due to people getting burned out. Only people who stay are visas who cant get on a new team inside AWS.
Thanks for the response. It really gives a lot of info.
That’s some great info @LkTV55. Are these activities related to cse and does the senior cse perform same activities?Im going to join as sr cse and confused as hell. I love aws and been spending last couple of years learning everything at my disposal.I accepted the offer hesitantly since it’s a support role.
So I am assuming by senior CSE you mean a CSE 2 (L5) as L6 hires are rare. Everything I mentioned above is what I currently do as an L5 CSE 2. Managers will try to add as many side things as they can to your plate but usually not lower the amounts of resolves you need per month. They will let you bury yourself in side work and then yell at you for not hitting resolves if you are not careful. So you just need to learn to say no to things you are not interested in. You will have to SME is something (which is a good thing as those cases also count towards your resolve and are sometimes really easy) which is where you become an expert in a specific service and do on call for a few hours during your working hours, working escalations (never after hours). L4s (CSA/CSE 1) have it worse and the side things they can do are more limited and they have higher resolve goals per month. CSE 1s can also get a SME though. I don’t think it’s a bad idea you took this job as you learn a ton about AWS. If you are on a core team (Windows, Linux, Network, DB) I highly recommend moving to a specialized team right away (DMS, Deployment, Big D, Analytics, etc) as the skills you learn on specialized teams are way more marketable. Everyone has to know the core stuff anyway so it’s a waste of time IMO. Don’t expect to get promoted to L6 (basically impossible) and don’t expect any major comp increases. Your moves would be to change teams internally (like SA, SDE, TAM, Manager) after a year or 2 or leave the company. Don’t try and chase the promotion carrot, you wont catch it :)
Thanks a lot, there is a lot to unpack here. Can I DM you?
OP can I DM you? I have an interview coming up, would love any tips/pointers if possible!
Sure go ahead
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