Amazon

"Every team is different. I have seen some that are led by women and have excellent work/life balance, kind and logical leadership, etc., but I am not on one of those teams. If there are very few women on the team, none in leadership, and no working mothers, tread carefully."

"If you come from a staffing background this type of environment Could be hard to assimilate with because the only thing you really chase it in the role is to go full-time no bonuses etc."

"Amazon is willing to take as much time as you're willing to give it. "

"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."