Working at Amazon is the best thing to happen to me (my story)

Amazon / Mgmt
Mixed bag

Go to company page Amazon Mgmt

Mixed bag
Sep 26, 2021 484 Comments

TLDR: I am not technically skilled and through blind luck I landed an SDM job at Amazon. My life has never been better.

I started my career as an sde in the mid 2010s and after a year I realized that hate coding and I'm horrible at it. I love LC and SD interviewing but I hate the actual day2day of a software Dev.

I've been fired from FOUR companies because I couldn't meet their bar (yes, I have gone through PIP/fire process at 4 different companies) but it never really scared me because tech is huge and I'm a decent interviewer. (also I only need like 100k TC to live so I apply to lower end jobs in tech)

I find writing code for work makes me depressed, I felt like I was pigeon holed into m my role as a swe and I would be forever in this game of cat and mouse.
ace the interview,
get offer,
start working,
extend onboarding,
miss expectations,
PIP,
fire.

I hated my career and I wanted a way out, I was planning on faking a disability to get insurance money and live off that. But now I'm glad I didn't take that path.

On top of hating what I do, I also had a bad home life. When I got an Amazon recruiter cold call me one day I agreed to take the interview for a contractor sde in AWS, I wasn't excited about it but I really didn't care and I had never worked for a faang before.

The team I landed in was on. I struggled but I think my boss had a kickback program from the temp company so they kept me the full contract even though I was a pretty shit Dev (I was/am below the L4 tech bar). I barely got my work done, the sr sde of my team helped me a lot, and I slacked because I didn't care about my job.

I got another cold LinkedIn inmail from an Amazon recruiter when my contract was almost up for another team at aws, because I knew I couldn't convert of my current team I interviewed for the new team.

I got an L5 sde offer (220k TC, double the highest TC I had ever earned before) and I took it, started mid covid-19 pandemic when everything was wfh. Landed of a team with a non technical SDM who didn't know how to manage a team. His career path was PM to TPM to SDM at Amazon. And because he was not technical at all I was able to just sort of hide on his team and do no work. I told him I would prefer high level tasks. I wrote 0 lines of code in 6mo.

After this time he was starting to realize I didn't do anything so I started browsing job finder and cold slack/chime messaging hiring managers for an SDM position, I figure if my manager can survive at Amazon as an SDM then I sure as hell can to.

I met with a bunch of HMs but eventually found someone to downlevel an SDM to L5 and accept me as an internal transfer.

I've now been an SDM for a few months, my entire original team transferred out to other teams and I'm currently trying to hire sdes, my team doesn't have any active customers and no product we support so having 0 people on my team isn't hurting me and it gives me a chance to build my own team.

My manager doesn't seem to care about the attrition and told me I'm doing a great job, we are already working on my L6 promo.

Since I became an sdm my happiness at work has gone up, my wlb has improved (now I work 20hrs a week, this fits well with my mental health issues) and I don't feel stressed to deliver because I can just delegate everything to other people.

For the first time in my half decade years working in tech I am happy with my job, and I feel like that happiness is spilling into other aspects of my life. My friends have told me I seem less depressed, I'm working on my health (lost 50lbs and now I go to the gym daily, my a1c is below 8). I started hiking and my psychiatrist has told me to try stopping my anti depression medication for the first time ever.

I realize this doesn't paint me in a good light as an SDM or as an SDE, and I'm probably not cut out for this job. But I feel like I can be successful at Amazon.

I'm terms of PIP culture I havnt seen anything from the management side in my few months as an L5 sdm, I have not wanted to pip any of my sdes but they all left right away, I'm sure as I stay at Amazon longer I'll learn more about the PIP culture but for now I don't see it.

YOE removed to keep anonymous
TC 220k

EDIT : I did not expect this post to blow up, I have received over a dozen messages from people asking to join my team. As well as a handful from people just saying positive kind things! I'm flattered but I don't feel comfortable giving out my alias, I posted this with the intention of being open about myself and sharing my story while staying anonymous, thank you everybody for the kind words. It means a lot to see how kind and humane the people on blind can be.

comments

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TOP 484 Comments
  • Hey OP - I hope you make a kick ass manager. Just because you are not great at coding doesn't mean you'll be a bad SDM. I have a friend who was a SWE for 12 years and barely got by. Became an SDM in the last few years and he's been amazing. People have different skills.
    Sep 27, 2021 2
  • Amazon
    fcka2z

    Go to company page Amazon

    fcka2z
    You have an amazing ability to self-reflect for a person who is so incompetent.
    Sep 27, 2021 5
    • New / Mgmt
      pPRz76

      New Mgmt

      pPRz76
      Op mentioned he has mental issues, he might have anxiety, that condition often develops self analysis and self reflection. Speaking from personal experience.
      Sep 27, 2021
    • Oracle
      (o)n^n

      Go to company page Oracle

      (o)n^n
      Op smoking the devils lettuce
      Sep 27, 2021
  • Amazon
    jijamina

    Go to company page Amazon

    jijamina
    Mediocres like these lower the bar and increase the politics
    Sep 27, 2021 3
    • Amazon
      jijamina

      Go to company page Amazon

      jijamina
      How would you show you are just as good as your peers without politics when you are in reality lowering the bar?
      Sep 27, 2021
    • Amazon / Mgmt
      Mixed bag

      Go to company page Amazon Mgmt

      Mixed bag
      OP
      I'm good at people... And I don't like lies about what I can do because it gives false expectations. If I lose my job at be it, but I have an issue with being fake
      Sep 27, 2021
  • Niantic
    bnxnxmma

    Go to company page Niantic

    bnxnxmma
    You inspire me to be a SDM, but I doubt this is a real story
    Sep 26, 2021 17
    • Amazon
      PIP Daddy

      Go to company page Amazon

      PIP Daddy
      Wow, you want to help me with mine? I have 3-4 2-pagers going at any given time in addition to a steady stream of PRFAQs, OP1/2 docs and the annual 6-page strategy doc. I’m soooo tired of writing.
      Sep 27, 2021
    • Amazon / Mgmt
      Mixed bag

      Go to company page Amazon Mgmt

      Mixed bag
      OP
      I would be happy to offer to help, but that would reveal who I am and I posted my story with the intention of remaining anonymous
      Sep 27, 2021
  • Amazon
    bane01

    Go to company page Amazon

    bane01
    Disgusting. This post (if true) is proof of everything that’s going wrong at Amazon. Self proclaimed incompetent people getting into management positions. Can’t wait to get out of here.
    Sep 28, 2021 8
    • Google
      zqtl76

      Go to company page Google

      zqtl76
      welcome to big tech, trick the interviewers, appear busy, kiss ass, consider committing insurance fraud and profit.

      op is either a disgruntled minion lying through his teeth or a bad decision away from being fired or worse

      regardless, agreed there’s so much incompetence in management
      Sep 28, 2021
    • Amazon
      pkr01

      Go to company page Amazon

      pkr01
      Unfortunately, Amazon is notorious for this. Heard Google is amazing at these things. Imposters rarely go through. All my interactions with google engineers and management so far have been nothing but pleasant. What has been your experience @zqtl76?
      Sep 28, 2021