Two weeks at Amazon and I already feel like quitting

Amazon
oJxA48

Go to company page Amazon

oJxA48
Sep 5, 2020 89 Comments

Joined Amazon Hyderabad two weeks ago and the constant fixing bugs in older code based on issues raised by teams, and spending the whole day to resolve those. This has already made me dread every working day. There is also an apparent general lack of empathy from the management.

I was contacted by recruiters from Atlassian, Walmart Labs and Goldman Sachs, although they probably won't be able to match the take-home pay of Amazon (because of sign on bonus), but they might approximately match it by stocks. Not sure of Walmart Labs.

And learning about the near zero hikes (unless you get a promotion), and the PIP mess, I wonder if I should start looking out immediately.

I'd like some thoughts by present or past employeers of Amazon and also from the community as to what I should do in this case. Should I give it more time or start looking out?

Is this just something in the beginning or is it the norm at Amazon, as I'm used to a more humane culture of working (past experience at medium/large size startups), does it get better?

L5
Amazon TC : 25 + 14 (joining) + 1 Stock unit
Atlassian (haven't started interviewing but this is what the recruiter told me) : 25-30 + 10% perf bonus + 8-10 L worth of stocks

#tech #amazon #india #walmart #atlassian

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TOP 89 Comments
  • Amazon / Eng
    nanas

    Go to company page Amazon Eng

    nanas
    Looks like you joined Amazon expecting negative shit and are just validating it. 2 weeks in and you expect to be handed over projects on silver plate? Sorry man, it's not Amazon which is problem here. Focus on doing whatever task you are given while earning trust of manager and team.
    Sep 5, 2020 2
  • Don’t forget you have to pay back sign on if you leave so quickly
    Sep 5, 2020 15
  • Adobe
    avt

    Go to company page Adobe

    avt
    Never worked at Amazon, but to regulars on Blind, this seems to be something of a norm, unfortunately.
    Sep 5, 2020 0
  • Google
    UKnoNothin

    Go to company page Google

    UKnoNothin
    Did you not check Blind BEFORE joining Amazon?
    Sep 5, 2020 5
    • Google
      UKnoNothin

      Go to company page Google

      UKnoNothin
      @teamarrow: Avg experience is bad; so just saying that 'it is subjective' hides the average experience about Amazon. So please stop staying that.
      Sep 9, 2020
    • Amazon
      teamarrow

      Go to company page Amazon

      teamarrow
      @UKnoNothin I meant 'it is subjective but one also needs to realize there is a high probability of ending up in bad place as average experience is bad'. Not trying to hide the bad avg :)
      Sep 9, 2020
  • Apple
    KingBowser

    Go to company page Apple

    KingBowser
    This post is a little confusing... What else would you expect to do? Software engineers fix bugs. Usually when you start a new job you are given small tasks like bugs to ramp up.

    Can you go into more detail about the lack of empathy from management? How did you come to this conclusion in the first 2 weeks?
    Sep 5, 2020 2
    • Amazon
      oJxA48

      Go to company page Amazon

      oJxA48
      OP
      True, but I wasn't even given time to understand or read about anything, it's just straight to fixing bugs. Which I didn't like because these things are on some stacks which I've not worked on, have very little documentation available and very tight deadlines.
      It's like throwing random things to the problem until one sticks.

      On the empathy part, it's like no one even flinches on the thought of working late or over the weekends, the whole aura is like it's blasphemous to have a life.
      Sep 5, 2020
    • Apple
      KingBowser

      Go to company page Apple

      KingBowser
      As for the first part doesn’t seem too bad. They want you to understand by diving into things. You aren’t a junior engineer so you should be fine here. If you need help just ask people.

      As for the 2nd part, that is a red flag and I have experienced similar at Apple. Not sure if I’d describe that as empathy and more like bad culture but that is a reason to consider leaving. But just make sure you know how to vet for that type of culture before joining the next place
      Sep 5, 2020