Work with smart people, but be prepared to sacrifice your personal life - Senior Product Manager Amazon Employee Review

3.0
25 May 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Amazon attracts some of the best talent in the world. I am constantly learning from my peers and I'm challenged on a daily basis. It's great working for a company that is defining e-commerce around the world. Most companies say that they care about their customers, but no one lives and breathes it like Amazon. Customers mean everything. It is far more important for Amazon to make their customers happy than their employees. Amazon has a good compensation program if you're willing to stick it out for 4 years (easier said than done). I'm an experienced hire with an MBA from a top 5 program - my base salary was on par with many corporate jobs (maybe slightly lower). I was given a nice cash signing bonus (a little over half my yearly salary) split up over 2 years. I was also given stock (originally worth about 2/3 my salary) that vests over 4 years (80% of it coming in years 3 and 4).

Cons

Be prepared to sacrifice work/life balance. If you are looking for a 40-50 hour a week job, Amazon is not the place to be. You will work nights and weekends on a regular basis - most of the time you can work from home (after office hours), but you're always on a leash. You will also be expected to do the dirty work in any role that you're in (you will need to write SQL to get your data - someone isn't going to do it for you). Know what you're getting into - Amazon can be a humbling place.

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5.0
29 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Stressful performance base job at higher lvl

Cons

A lot of extra hours

5.0
10 Jan 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Really smart people, a lot of opportunity for growth, always encouraged to be innovative, think big, and create something new. Competitive salary and benefits with other major tech companies. 100% self motivating work environment. No dress code and 4 legged friends are welcome.

Cons

You have to be self motivated. NO ONE will hold your hand and tell you that you're doing a great job. If you need constant affirmations from management, this company isn't for you.

3159
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