Amazon

"Good pay hourly, but it remains the same no work life balance"

"It was difficult at first to put my prior work experience to practice and be valued. But instead, I learned a new skillset and the team was super supportive."

"Definitely depends on your team/manager/peers. Unfortunately I was not lucky to find myself in a supportive team. I’m the only female, had to fight for a fair, uncontestable promotion to be ranked among my male teammates with equal amounts of experience, and struggle everyday to feel valued and listened to. It has gotten harder and more tense since I told my manager I would be taking advantage of the maternity leave benefits."

"This depends on your team. Certain teams have more women in higher leadership, but overall you’ll see more men in VP and Senior VP positions. "

"It really depends on your leadership. I've had good experiences but I have also witnessed people in leadership make sexist comments in meetings."

"Specifically, I am talking about working at Amazon's corporate headquarters, not a fulfillment center. While I enjoyed my time here (about two and a half years), Amazon has developed a culture that is bizarre and doesn't really focus on people improving in their current positions. They encourage employees to move around and get new jobs in-house after about eighteen months, which means that every department is in a state of constant turmoil and shorthanded. Just as you become good at what you do, you're encouraged to move to a different position, which makes no sense. Additionally, promotions to higher levels are often impossible because of rigidity in the culture. For example, if you are a Level 6 and would like to be promoted to Level 7 based on your work and merit, you can't be promoted unless you have six direct reports. Most of the higher level positions are held by men, and trust me when I tell you that men frequently talk over you in meetings. It's really annoying. Amazon culture also places priority on mechanizing and creating identical processes for everything, which is great if you're creating widgets, but not so great if you want people to be strategic thinkers or come up with creative PR or marketing campaigns. I was let go from Amazon about a year ago, not for cause. I spent five months taking Amazon to court to get my unemployment benefits, which they denied initially because they told Washington State that I quit. I discovered after doing a lot of research that -- because turnover at Amazon is so high -- they actually have a company on retainer whose whole focus is denying unemployment to people who are let go. After two court hearings, both of which no representative of Amazon showed up for, I won my case and was awarded my back unemployment pay. I met some great people at Amazon, many of whom I am still friends with. But the culture is toxic. I wouldn't recommend working there if you are a creative thinker."

"Set your expectations upon hire. Not all managers and teams are understanding of what it means to be a working parent. Do your research and ask a lot of questions before accepting a role. "

"Very set hours and predictable during peak seasons. Tons of ways to be involved inside and out."

"Best company to work for; I wish they didn’t close down due to COVID 19"

"Amazon is a highly dynamic environment with a focus on improving diversity in the tech industry. At Amazon, you will feel constantly challenged to be the best version of yourself and get to work alongside people who motivate you to do so."

"Would rather have more flex time- working from home has been okay"

"be prepared to work physically demanding hours in a fast paced environment on your feet at all times, teamwork is a must, and you must be able to lift at least 50 lbs"

"Within engineering teams, there is a widespread culture of on-call, and high workloads which makes work-life balance challenging. Many teams have 24-hour on call and no policies for accommodating family, parenting or personal needs - it's an individual, case-by-case basis. There can be a tendency to downlevel people during the hiring process, which can lead to women being less senior than comparable male peers."

"Only work here if you're okay with being put to work in a high stress environment that rarely updates problems that cause it to be hard to do the job right. You MUST be very assertive to even be heard; rarely will it ever actually change anything. "

"Very dependent on the team you join. In my experience as a woman of color: expect to be talked over, overlooked, under leveled and underpaid. This is the kind of place that talks a big game about diversity but with only white male leadership."

"They do not value employees time or well being. This is beyond a boys club and they promote their favorite boys first."

"They claim to be a diverse company, but it is diverse to a point. They will promote the worst people for the position and tend to promote their friends over qualified people. HR only listens to one side of the story and passes judgment before they know the facts. You could get fired just because someone doesn't like you and they believe them because they are friends with HR or the manager."

"Some teams are much more inclusive than others. If you do end up on a male-dominated team, just keep in mind that you can transfer internally fairly easily, and inclusivity should be something to consider when making your next move."

"I've had a good experience as a female leader at Amazon. My team actively focuses on hiring and promoting females and un-represented minorities (leaders review metrics regularly in this area). Maternity benefits are great and the Seattle offices have nursing rooms in each building on campus. Work/life balance is fine- you create your own environment and set boundaries. Now over 5 years in, I feel tenured and know my role well. My first couple of years were rough, though. Amazon is a unique environment and you need to have a thick skin. You will have to adapt to the writing culture, meeting culture, and fast-paced environment. There isn't a lot of help with on-boarding ...it's sink or swim. I'm also not a fan of VPs tearing down people in meetings, swearing, and creating lots of churn to feel important. With that said, you learn quickly on what's expected and if you adapt well, you'll go far. "

"Very strict attendance policies and they make changes too often; you are destined to be thrown into a fire here "

"It depends greatly which manager you are under, but there is a growing culture in some groups of flexibility, including working remotely as needed or having flexible hours around family or personal needs. This should be brought to their attention early. I would also say this flexibility is more for senior positions, but could be applied to others depending on role and responsibilities."

"Hard work, like a robot. Must use Unpayed Time Off or your paid time off to cover sick days as they offer none. If you exceed your UTO you can and will be fired."

"I have flexibility on my team, but I've spoken to countless women at Amazon who do not. So again, it is (unfortunately) very difficult to give a review that will be helpful because it varies so greatly. I encourage applicants to ask very direct questions of the manager about things like WFH policies. From a corporate level, there is no official policy for WFH or job flexibility. Most teams do not give much flexibility if any at all. Many still require on call for new parents. "

"Okay job but a lot of thirsty men work here."

"Not a warm fuzzy culture but if you get your work done, you'll be recognized"

"The company was founded by an engineer and logic and data are important. If you enjoy data, are a logical thinker, can write well (no PowerPoints, MSWord written reports), and are okay with the flywheel principles of offering wide selection of products, at lowest prices, for convenient/fast delivery -- Amazon may be a good fit for you."

"Crazy hight project workload, very stressful work environment, unhappy people. "

"Amazon is a place where you get out what you put in. It can be hard to compete in a male dominated tech industry especially when women have families or other obligations based on gender norms. There are communities of women working to try to change it, but in 5 years I have worked in on 2 teams that had women in executive leadership positions. Most women in leadership don't seem to be on the Amazon tech side. (more so in AWS). "

"Unless you like lifting 50 plus pounds over and over for 10 hours straight, skip this place. "

"Only care about customers not employees. No work life balance. "

"No. Why would I Want another woman to be treated bad."

"As someone who has worked at Amazon for the past 5 years i have seen only a handful of women in leadership roles. This company is constantly hiring new college graduates and cycling through them at an astonishing rate, but few are women. I was told from an operations manager that I must not have aspirations of advancing due to being on the "mommy track". Please keep in mind my male coworkers also have children and have not received the same feedback. "

"Great place to work. i really enjoyed my time there."

"Everything depends on the team. I have been fortunate to work on teams where women were strongly represented in leadership positions (all the way through the VP-levels); however, I have heard that more IT/AWS type teams are more heavily male-dominated. Note that all SVPs (except HR) are men at Amazon."

"Negotiate strongly at the offer stage - getting better compensation or promotion to next level is very hard once you are in"

"Pick your team wisely - work life balance and culture differ based on the leadership within your team "

"Expect to work hard and be exhausted, but the benefits are fantastic!"

"It’s very easy to get sucked into working at all hours. It’s also very possible that if you aren’t willing to tip the work life balance scales more in favor of work than life that your coworkers will get promoted faster than you. To a certain extent, Amazon performance assessment policies do encourage competition, so this is something to keep in mind and be prepared for. "

"Progression is slow. You need to aim for the highest possible role that your qualifications will permit you to rather than playing it safe. If you are rejected you can always re-apply another time using the feedback you receive."

"You need to set your own boundaries for work/life balance. The company will take every ounce of your time if you let it."

"You have to work here, applications are a little bit difficult but when you'll be in it would be much more easy."

"Amazon has the best compensation that I have found. And they also do a lot of their promoting from within. If you can find a way to view your home office as a job site and treat it like this, it is a wonderful option for women at all levels."

"If you can define your north star, this company offers many options."

"While the benefits for medical and leave are good, the work - life balance is not. A lot of overtime and long 10 to 12 hour days, six days a week. schedule change on short notice.limited PTO and limited advancement."

"Hours for customer service agents are long and not very desirable. You will be working when the call volume is the highest which is in the mornings and mid to late evenings. One weekend day is required in everyone’s schedule. "

"Be prepared to work double your male counterparts at senior levels just to stay employed/tough slog to get promoted. "

"one thing is to make sure to define what you need to be happy, successful while interviewing your future boss/team. If you set expectations of what you are willing to do, it will help ensure that you are on the same page with your team. "

"It’s tough, but the quality of the people you work with and the kind of work you get to do sometimes makes it worth it."

"It is more progressive but not as progressive as competing tech companies"

"Maternity leave isn't good for pregnant women. They have pregnant employees working full time hours doing warehouse labor while pregnant women worry about making rates."

"Overall there are good benefits, but the culture differs from department to department. "

"You need to know what you are worth and have your boundaries set before you start. Be open about what is working and what is not working. The beautiful thing about Amazon is the mobility inside the company--if you find your team is not working for you, find one that will. "

"Great place to work - truly - but not for the faint-of-heart. There is a Genuine desire to engage diversity. Militant feminism is not required, but backbone and willingness to be comfortable in self-advocating is needed and expected. "

"Choose wisely groups they are not all the same cultures/people"

"Be ready to do your share of the work in the warehouse"

"no growth and salary hike for agents in this company"

"Join all of our women centered affinity groups and evangelize a culture that promotes diversity and coaches against unconscious bias."

"Be confident in your ability to handle and navigate workplace politics. Be adaptable to change. Speak up early and loudly, otherwise risk being walked on and/or left behind. If you feel as though you're being bullied by your boss, look for another team or another job as soon as possible because HR rarely stands by those being bullied."

"Beware of the stress-level and backhanded expectations. People are encouraged to give unsolicited feedback to people's managers."

"Lots of opportunities, lots of women in key leadership positions, lots of integrity of workplace culture. Pay is low for everyone at the low paid positions, it is nothing pesonal or gemder specific."

"Your leader makes a big difference in your experience at this company."

"The company is slowly making a lot of systemic changes when it comes to diversity and inclusion. The review process, however, is very closed door and based heavily on manager input and managers are still primarily male."

"Amazon really means it when they want you to take care of their customers. You are given free reign to do just that."

"You should go out of your way to be connected and know people. That matters more then merit ans performance."

"There is a lot of variation by team, so be direct in vetting the team you are interviewing with."

"You will learn to tolerate being treated like a second-class citizen. Your management will tell you that gender bias doesn’t exist. Honestly, everything about the large tech companies from interview to employment is just hazing masquerading as normalcy. It’s no different here. There’s an obsession with hiring the best of the best. Put 10 socially inept “best” on a team, and you get most teams at Microsoft, Google and Amazon. If the teams were more diverse they would be smarter. It’ll be years before that sinks in. "

"As above, I don't think this employer is biased against women I think it's more biased against people who are introverted and want to be rewarded based on skills rather than connections. As a woman, you have to be a strong character who will stand out against both men and women in order to do well."

"Company perks are lacking but maternity leave is great, very corporate"

"Be very judicious in what team you seek out, do your research, and be prepared to stand up and have a voice."

"It's not a terrible place to work. The people are smart and the pay is great but you can burn yourself out due to overwork."

"Well I won't just speak for women. However, I can say in general those who have children or other jobs this may not work. It's not all it's cracked up to be with balancing time between your kids and work."

"There is a strong male tech culture which can be draining, especially in meetings.. "

"You have to be willing to work hard but everyone has equal opportunity to succeed and facetime isn't required."

"Very hard labor but doable. Wear good shoes and stretch at beginning of shift it helps"

"Good company and maternity benefits. But for some reason not so many woman software engineer that have children."

"You need to be able to stand up for yourself, be willing to call out men for repeating your ideas, speak up at the table, figure out what you need to take a stand on and what you need to let slide, and be ready to work hard. Carefully vet the group you are going to and the manager and skip manager."

"Try to do your job and stay out of the politics."

"Don't work here. Men tend to gang up on women who want to collaborate or share praise It is seen as weak and they use wo.en as scapegoats."

"Talk to people inside and make sure you're in a team where they value flexiblity and aren't obsessed with sky-high targets"

"If you want to have a baby, great! The maternity leave is awesome (paid for five months). If you already have a family, or once you get back from leave, good luck! Don't expect any special treatment; your hours and travel won't change."

"Has come a long way and continues to improve on maternity, job shares and promoting women"