Amazon offer evaluation. Please help!
Hello, please help! I have 2 offers that I need to decide on, one for amazon and one for an unknown startup. Each have their pros and cons:
Startup:
TC: ~250: 15k sign on, 135k base, 60% bonus
Location: nyc
Pros: team seems super friendly, startup vibe, free beer, WLB seems great
Cons: not well known so exit ops may be even harder than now
Amazon:
TC: not yet known, they tried to lowball me but I told them about my other offer so I think they will at least get close - but would be happy with 200+
Location - Seattle, would need to eventually move (I live in nyc now)
Pros: amazon gold star on resume
Cons: I have heard horror stories on here about poor WLB and pip culture
Current situation- SWE
TC: 125k
Location: nyc
YOE: 4
Age: 26
Additional info:
I value WLB a lot but I also want a good career and eventually want to move to FB or G but out of all the FAANGs I could only get into amazon. Amazon will definitely have better exit ops and will upgrade my resume. Amazon also downleveled me. This startup is definitely a great job and I’d be happy there but it doesn’t put me in the big tech circle. I also want to stay on the east coast, I think I will tell my recruiter having to move to Seattle will be a deal breaker. Amazon org: consumer - international
Any advice? Is the amazon gold star worth the potential terrible WLB? Thanks!#swe
comments
Soul crushing? I'd rather be told my work is crap than be given flowers and claps for the code that I right. Sometimes we need to be crushed to come back stronger. How do you know what happiness is if you don't know sadness?
1. The year I spent at Amazon was incredibly painful. Poor wlb, high stress, terrible oncall, toxic culture. Amazon has the potential to completely ruin your life for a year if your not lucky enough to get on a good team.
2. It didn’t help much in getting into Google besides getting the interviews which I could’ve done without Amazon. Only thing that helps in the interviews is leetcode. I’d argue that leetcoding is a lot harder working at Amazon.
3. I’m much happier at Google now and life at Google is so much better.
If I could rewind time, Id skip the intermediate step of working at Amazon before Google.
Basically I’m waiting until I make it a year then I’m out