Thinking about switching companies and found out over an interview call that the group that I'm interviewing with at Amazon is fully remote (with 40-50% travel to jobsites). The interview went positively, and the interviewer was encouraging. I, however, am a bit hesitant with this possibly being an office-less position. I understand that happiness/job satisfaction at Amazon is heavily dependent on the group itself, but generally, how important is "team" and community across the organization? For example, are there frequent all hands calls/transparency and team/group meetings? And regarding remote onboarding, does Amazon offer clear and organized onboarding tools, or is it more of a learn by doing mentality? A general question about working at home, do companies provide stipends to be spent on work related costs (co-working spaces, computer monitors, broadband connections, etc), or do folks just write them off as tax deductions? Living in NYC, my one bedroom is small, and I think I would probably need to work outside of the house a few times a week, which would be a monthly expenditure. Thanks in advance to any insight. Other pros and cons would be great as well.
It’s pretty nice, I have three offices: my bed, my couch and my kitchen table
Can’t they get you a desk in one of the NYC offices? A lot of people based there are one of only one or two from their team, meaning they are effectively remote but at least have an office to go to.
I will definitely ask to see if they will provide a desk. From my initial interview, the employee I talked to worked from home in NJ. I'm not sure if the 4 other immediate teammates are in NYC or not. I would definitely like to have a landing desk (not necessarily a dedicated desk) when not traveling.
Is this the SA job? I've seen a lot of those remote with that amount of travel.
It's part of the Construction team. We have to go to the physical construction sites. My current position is about 30% travel and about 60% video or conference calls... This isn't much different outside of not having co-workers around, but that's a big difference.
No commute! No co-workers accidentally eating your lunch. Seems kind of nice.
There are certainly lots of pros! But I am also concerned about getting face time with management and building work relationships. Those that work remotely at my currently company have a tough time in those areas.
Very hard to move up. We had someone in the team and people kept joking about him having a second job.
I would agree with this statement, and this is partly my concern. In your team, is the entire group (or a large majority) remote? I am still interviewing and will get confirmation, but I believe this group I am interviewing with is entirely remote.
Ask for a desk in nyc We have enough office buildings here to find you one... On top of that jfk14 (building across the street from the Empire State) has a couple of floors of hot desks with decent equipment (32” qhd / dual 24 + dock + sit stand desk and tons of phone booths) you could use when you want
Wfh is bomb
You would get an office set up for home, e.g. docking station, laptop, mouse, keyboard, mic, monitor(s), etc. You can write off any expenses you make for the set up such as extension cords and a desk. You should talk to your potential teammates to see how it works on your team. I'm remote and didnt have to pay for anything.
Will do! My current company allows for partial remote work, but I usually go into the office. Most of my current coworkers have purchased their own setups, but we are more of a startup mentality with less company funds to support an employee's decision to work from home.
Hm, reading up on tax deductions and found this blurb: "With tax reform, you won't be able to deduct your unreimbursed job expenses on your federal tax return unless you incurred these expenses as an Armed Forces reservist, a qualified performing artist, a fee-basis state or local government official or an employee with impairment-related work expenses. But you should still enter your job expense information here so we can calculate any deductions you may qualify for on your state tax return."