My Time at Amazon

14 days ago

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The author shares her experience working at Amazon, starting with her initial skepticism and eventual hiring into Big Tech.
Amazon's onboarding process is described as highly efficient and well-organized, contrasting with her chaotic startup experiences.
Amazon employees are assigned levels (L1-L12) which dictate their roles, responsibilities, and interactions within the company.
Tenure at Amazon is visually marked by badge colors, indicating years of service, and combined with levels, it helps employees quickly assess each other's status.
The author initially relished her newfound status at Amazon, enjoying the external validation and respect that came with the job.
She was assigned a high-stakes project to present to Andy Jassy, then head of AWS, which required intense preparation and focus.
The author reflects on the challenges of balancing motherhood with the demands of her job, including hiding aspects of her personal life to avoid being seen as less committed.
Despite successfully securing funding for her project, the experience left her feeling unfulfilled, realizing the relentless pursuit of status at Amazon was like a 'drug.'
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted her work-life balance further, leading her to quit Amazon after just over a year.
Her exit was quiet, and she initially thought she was done with Amazon, but she later returned to the platform, hinting at a continuation of her story.

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