How to deal with 12 hours time zone difference

Amazon
divedeeepe

Go to company page Amazon

divedeeepe
Aug 26, 2021 11 Comments

Hey everyone,

I joined a team 2 months ago as SDE and not feeling good in the team :(.
First, the whole team is located in Asia, so I'm the only one 12 hours difference. The onboarding is being really stressful, when I get stuck, I don't have a 'buddy' to ask. I try to send questions and wait to get an answer the next day, but everything is going fucking slow this way.
Second, we only have a small meeting each week to discuss about the project and next tasks which is not enough to cover everything (There is no daily or weekly)
Third, there is not good documentation which makes worse the onboarding.
Finally, and to make it even worse, their accent is being really hard for me (had not worked with Asians before )

In the first place I have no idea why they hire me for that team, I see it as a mistake and zero efficient.
Should I switch work hours and try to overlap their work time ?
Which strategies do you use to work with that timezone differences ?

Thanks!

TC: 120k

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TOP 11 Comments
  • New
    OM051

    New

    OM051
    I see opportunities to improve processes, document processes and create additional meetings that will lead to individual and team successes. Identify the gaps then work to fill them. Then ask for a raise!
    Aug 26, 2021 0
  • Amazon
    wuz is god

    Go to company page Amazon

    wuz is god
    You should tell your manager and skip the time zone isn’t working out and ask to switch teams
    Aug 26, 2021 0
  • Google
    blueballs🫐

    Go to company page Google

    blueballs🫐
    sorry about that :( I’m in a similar situation due to US visa delays where I’m the only one working out of Asia. I can barely follow what’s going on, lots of jargon and this team moves really fast rushing for deadlines and doing sprints, but the 1 hr overlap of timezones per day is not enough for me to be able to follow the developments. I feel useless af
    Aug 26, 2021 0
  • How do you get 120k in amazon?
    Aug 26, 2021 4
    • Rakuten / Ops
      tooQ10

      Go to company page Rakuten Ops

      PRE
      Rakuten
      BIO
      Obligatory: YoE 20, TC 43k. Such is life for us non-SWE office monkeys!
      tooQ10
      That's what I'm asking; I interviewed for a L3 position in Asia requiring a PhD and the salary was under $50k US equivalent. Can't imagine that ever increasing 2.4-fold no matter how many LPs I exemplified.
      Aug 26, 2021
    • Argo AI
      Lidarshark

      Go to company page Argo AI

      Lidarshark
      Read OP's post again, the rest of his team is in Asia.
      Aug 26, 2021
  • New / Eng
    johnjacoba

    New Eng

    johnjacoba
    Why did you take the job?
    Aug 26, 2021 1