Amazon raises between promotions
I work at a company where the only way to get a raise is to be promoted or leave. Amazon is making me an offer. If it’s on the low end of a band range will there be opportunities for me to get raises if I perform well?
Negotiate like hell if you decide to join Amazon. The offer you receive will pretty much stay that way for 4+ yrs. Only take the offer if you’re okay with the TC not changing for 4+ yrs
They might stay that way on paper but in terms of stock growth they’ve been appreciating rapidly over the last several years
Right, but it’s best if you can not sell your stock and let it sit for awhile. Therefore, also make sure your salary and signing bonuses are high. Don’t just focus on stock is my point
You’ll see this explained in the offer letter as well. Each year (starting year 2) you will have a annual performance review and if your base salary is not at cap then you are eligible for a base salary pay raise, depending on your performance rating of course. If you are capped then you will get stocks instead. Each year (starting year 3) you will get a stock grant that vests in 2 yrs (year 3 grant vest in year 5, etc) based on your TCT. The TCT is based on your performance rating that was given during your annual performance review.
It will take 4 years to reap the rewards for performing well unless promoted. If promoted there’s no guaranteed gain either. For example, now a days some people are getting 260-290k offers for SDE2. SDE3 band starts from 250K. So, those SDE2s won’t probably get raise from promo.