Notably, no one else on this comment thread is
willing to attach their real identity to it.
I've been contacted by Amazon recruiting many
times. I'm a Seattleite with 10+ years of
software engineering experience. And I'll say
the same thing here that I say to every AMZN
recruiter who contacts me: no way, no how.
Amazon is a sweatshop, and anyone who thinks
otherwise—especially Jeff—is deluding themselves.
I wish that Amazon featured *anywhere* on my
list of 'prospective employers that I'd consider
working at someday,' but given the reputation
that they have with my friends, there's
absolutely no way I'd ever consider working
there under any circumstances.
If my feelings are anything like other
prospective senior and principal-level
employees here in the area (and I assume
they are), then it concerns me deeply about
Amazon's future.
Agreed, I did 3 months at Amazon and ran screaming for the hills. To this day I am stalked by recruiters trying to get me to come back, even after explaining to them that only people with deep, neurotic lack of self worth would ever do that. Amazon does not hire just the best, they hire the brilliant geeks who don't realize they are brilliant and have personality problems such that they don't understand when they are being screwed over. Well, except for the aws team. They are pretty ok from what I recall.
I was advised to take a 3 month summer internship because I'd learn a lot while I was there. I was also advised that my life would be miserable during those 3 months and that I should not work there full time.
What's funny is that people started making specific accusations and then all the rest of us started having flashbacks to our Amazon interview experiences.
