[OkieSnuffBox]

And that $72 was with 9 years of experience.

[OkieSnuffBox]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

Working in the non-profit space for peanuts, I'm curious what they are starting technical writers at?????

You also have to delineate starting and where I'm now. I'm 40 years old with 15 years of experience, which is why AWS threw out the range they did. If I'm lucky to get it.

I've been spending this weekend looking for my best writing samples in case I make it that far.

[Fatty Duckets]

I do not work for Amazon, however I have a friend who has in the sales space for roughly 8 years. The theme seems to be that once your RSU's vest over a 4-5 year span, talent ends up leaving.

Personally, I interviewed for Customer Advisor (Sales) roles twice, and made it to the final "loop" interview, and each time, did not receive an offer. The company provides feedback during the interview process, however they do not provide any feedback during the final "loop" interview. For those who do not know, the loop is a set of 45 minute individual behavioral interviews with 6 separate employees, one of which is not even from the same department. I basically had to sit in front of my computer from 8am-6pm for an entire day completing this loop. Honestly, it was a royal pain in the ass, and did not seem necessary. Perhaps I dodged a bullet, or two.

The comp plan for this role as of last summer was around a 130k base + 90k a year in RSU's, with a vesting schedule of I believe 4 years.

If anyone has additional questions about this, I'd be glad to share my experiences.

[DETRoadster]

Originally Posted by OkieSnuffBox

Just got off the phone with the internal recruiter. Talked about pay, benefits, the interviewing process, etc.

I'm going to apply, the salary range she quoted me was literally jaw dropping. I already know I'm underpaid where I'm at now, but I still do pretty decent for a guy in Oklahoma with a Public Relations degree.

Base for base, it would DOUBLE my salary. And that doesn't include the sign-on bonus, RSUs, etc.

That's how they get you and the stock options are how the keep you for 4 years. There seems to be a culture there that actually values turnover so they incentivize the Hell out of you to hang on for dear life and do anything to survive until your options vest.

I have one close friend who works for Amazon and 7 former employees who do. My brother worked on contract at Amazon. I've also interviewed a handful of former Amazon execs for positions far below their paygrade. I'll explain...

The close friend is, no joke, the smartest person I've ever met. Harvard grad, MIT Sloan School of Management MBA. He was working 70 to 80 hours a week at Amazon developing and maintaining the software code that predicts ordering patterns months and even years in advance so that inventory and warehousing can react. He's insanely smart and one of the most interesting, charismatic, and genuinely nice people you'll ever meet. And, he got put on a performance improvement plan. It was brutal and it all pointed back to a shitty manager. He ended up moving departments and things got better. He jumped departments again and is now completely bored with what he does but it's also very survivable. It seems that once you are in the door, and vested, the game is to find a department where you can survive as opposed to finding one doing something you actually enjoy.

My brother LOVED his time at Amazon but he worked for a contracting company so he had a layer of protection there from the BS, but also did not enjoy any of the benefits. He was doing video production so more on the creative size. he said that generally, people on the creative side find things more laid back than those on the operations side. Not sure where tech writing would fall as it kinda bridges those two worlds.

The company I work for now hires smart kids right out of college and gives them their first break. We train them, give them practical and transferrable skills like project management, and dont pay them all that well. They stick with us for 2 to 3 years and then they are off to a big paying tech company job, many with Amazon. I keep in loose contact with a few and it's the same story when it comes to overall satisfaction: It all depends on the department you are in.

Finally there's the burnt out ex-Amazon execs I interview for Director and VP level positions making 25% of what they were making at Amazon. Same story every time: They killed themselves at Amazon for years, developed mental or physical health problems, quit, took a year off, and are now wanting to contribute their skills and knowledge in a fun and collaborative environment where work/life balance still means something. My wife does primary care medicine and has a dozen or so upper level management Amazon employees with job related anxiety, stress, depression. She patches them up and tells them all the same thing: "You need to take a year off, get healthy, then get a new job."

Anyway, that's my experience. Personally I would not touch them with a 10-foot pole unless I was literally recruited by a manager I knew saying "come work for me in my department and this is what it will be like." The risk of hitting a "bad" department is just too great.

I wish you all the best. Keep us posted on whether you score the position! I've hired a number of tech writers in my time and worked with many. As you said, you are a rare breed. Good tech writers are hard to come by so if Amazon realizes that you might just find yourself in a highly valued and well treated department.

[Kolyan2k]

There was an article of some young software engineer working there for $450k, he quit

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by DETRoadster

That's how they get you and the stock options are how the keep you for 4 years. There seems to be a culture there that actually values turnover so they incentivize the Hell out of you to hang on for dear life and do anything to survive until your options vest.

I have one close friend who works for Amazon and 7 former employees who do. My brother worked on contract at Amazon. I've also interviewed a handful of former Amazon execs for positions far below their paygrade. I'll explain...

The close friend is, no joke, the smartest person I've ever met. Harvard grad, MIT Sloan School of Management MBA. He was working 70 to 80 hours a week at Amazon developing and maintaining the software code that predicts ordering patterns months and even years in advance so that inventory and warehousing can react. He's insanely smart and one of the most interesting, charismatic, and genuinely nice people you'll ever meet. And, he got put on a performance improvement plan. It was brutal and it all pointed back to a shitty manager. He ended up moving departments and things got better. He jumped departments again and is now completely bored with what he does but it's also very survivable. It seems that once you are in the door, and vested, the game is to find a department where you can survive as opposed to finding one doing something you actually enjoy.

My brother LOVED his time at Amazon but he worked for a contracting company so he had a layer of protection there from the BS, but also did not enjoy any of the benefits. He was doing video production so more on the creative size. he said that generally, people on the creative side find things more laid back than those on the operations side. Not sure where tech writing would fall as it kinda bridges those two worlds.

The company I work for now hires smart kids right out of college and gives them their first break. We train them, give them practical and transferrable skills like project management, and dont pay them all that well. They stick with us for 2 to 3 years and then they are off to a big paying tech company job, many with Amazon. I keep in loose contact with a few and it's the same story when it comes to overall satisfaction: It all depends on the department you are in.

Finally there's the burnt out ex-Amazon execs I interview for Director and VP level positions making 25% of what they were making at Amazon. Same story every time: They killed themselves at Amazon for years, developed mental or physical health problems, quit, took a year off, and are now wanting to contribute their skills and knowledge in a fun and collaborative environment where work/life balance still means something. My wife does primary care medicine and has a dozen or so upper level management Amazon employees with job related anxiety, stress, depression. She patches them up and tells them all the same thing: "You need to take a year off, get healthy, then get a new job."

Anyway, that's my experience. Personally I would not touch them with a 10-foot pole unless I was literally recruited by a manager I knew saying "come work for me in my department and this is what it will be like." The risk of hitting a "bad" department is just too great.

I wish you all the best. Keep us posted on whether you score the position! I've hired a number of tech writers in my time and worked with many. As you said, you are a rare breed. Good tech writers are hard to come by so if Amazon realizes that you might just find yourself in a highly valued and well treated department.

I left the aforementioned employer in my post above for the exact same reasons you outlined. Was too stressful. Things management was doing was unethical. I was placed on a PIP for nothing I had control over yet the partner we were working with that was responsible for this issue was still being entertained by upper management at socials.

I found another job where I took a $20k per year base pay cut and it was totally worth it.

[OkieSnuffBox]

Originally Posted by DETRoadster

I wish you all the best. Keep us posted on whether you score the position! I've hired a number of tech writers in my time and worked with many. As you said, you are a rare breed. Good tech writers are hard to come by so if Amazon realizes that you might just find yourself in a highly valued and well treated department.

Thanks for the insight!

I will definitely let everyone know how it goes. I'm just looking up my best writing samples to share if it gets to that point.

Even though I know I'm underpaid based on the market, I do really enjoy the people I work with and my boss. For example, when the pandemic started, he made the better half and I 3 masks each. So he's a friend, not just a boss.

So I don't want to get in the trap of just chasing money. I spoke with a friend last who is a PM for Cisco, and he said their TW department is great. So I'll at least apply and see how it goes.

[e90335e36m3]

I work in aerospace and defence and was told I should apply to Boeing, who apparently is best in class from a compensation perspective, would probably be making 20% more than I'm making now but was told the culture is challenging. I've been at my current company since 2016 so decided not to switch for sake of money. Aerospace pays really well in general, better than most industries from what I gather, and I'm a non-technical / engineering person, was getting raked over the coals in oil and gas prior.

[chassis]

Originally Posted by e90335e36m3

I work in aerospace and defence and was told I should apply to Boeing, who apparently is best in class from a compensation perspective, would probably be making 20% more than I'm making now but was told the culture is challenging. I've been at my current company since 2016 so decided not to switch for sake of money. Aerospace pays really well in general, better than most industries from what I gather, and I'm a non-technical / engineering person, was getting raked over the coals in oil and gas prior.

What does raked over the coals mean?

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by e90335e36m3

I work in aerospace and defence and was told I should apply to Boeing, who apparently is best in class from a compensation perspective, would probably be making 20% more than I'm making now but was told the culture is challenging. I've been at my current company since 2016 so decided not to switch for sake of money. Aerospace pays really well in general, better than most industries from what I gather, and I'm a non-technical / engineering person, was getting raked over the coals in oil and gas prior.

A company such as Boeing is so large, it's just not one company. It's a mix of subsidiaries through required corporate organization to acquisitions over time. So it really depends on which group you end up working for that will dictate what work environment you will have. Same goes with Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems. I suspect the same can be said of the other large defense contractors: General Dynamics, Northrup Grumman, etc. The ones prior I have either first hand knowledge or pretty close to it.

[Germanauto]

My brother has worked there in Seattle for a year now. It's tough, you've got to put in your 3-4 years in order to vest your stock options which is the golden ticket. Like Kaiser for Physicians.

[e90335e36m3]

Originally Posted by zx10guy

A company such as Boeing is so large, it's just not one company. It's a mix of subsidiaries through required corporate organization to acquisitions over time. So it really depends on which group you end up working for that will dictate what work environment you will have. Same goes with Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems. I suspect the same can be said of the other large defense contractors: General Dynamics, Northrup Grumman, etc. The ones prior I have either first hand knowledge or pretty close to it.

I know what you're saying, know Boeing very well and work closely with some of the companies you referenced, on a day to day basis, I'm speaking in generalities because it's on a forum.

[itrocks4u]

Originally Posted by OkieSnuffBox

They reached out to me through LinkedIn to apply for a position, well positions. They have a few openings that are all in what I do (Technical Writing).

Going to speak to a recruiter later and get some more details. Just curious if anyone worked there and had any insight into culture, benefits, etc.

Yes, I do. PM me if you have questions that I can help with.

In terms of culture, just focus on people you'll be reporting to. Vet them and see if they are someone you can work with. I've worked for worlds best employer and hated it because of a bad manager.

[jmack]

Originally Posted by OkieSnuffBox

Hmmm, not good. But I wonder if that's real or just disgruntled employees.

I work for Oracle so I know what it's like to work for a big tech company. I have to say we are treated pretty well, except raises don't come that often and most of it is typically tied up in RSU's vs base salary.

In 5 years, my base salary has only gone up $5k, but I have received hundreds of RSU's to go along with those two raises.

Amazon has the most aggressive stack ranking in FAANG. Bottom 8% gets cut every year. It leads to a pretty stressful environment. But if you're good, you'll make great money and move up quickly.

[OkieSnuffBox]

Originally Posted by itrocks4u

Yes, I do. PM me if you have questions that I can help with.

In terms of culture, just focus on people you'll be reporting to. Vet them and see if they are someone you can work with. I've worked for worlds best employer and hated it because of a bad manager.

I will shoot you a message. We've had internet issues the last few days, then the better half got a new job offer. So it's been a a busy few days.

I need to apply this evening.

Originally Posted by jmack

Amazon has the most aggressive stack ranking in FAANG. Bottom 8% gets cut every year. It leads to a pretty stressful environment. But if you're good, you'll make great money and move up quickly.

That's good to know.

[Alfisti]

I'd apply, if you get the offer go tot he current boss and say look, i want to stay, can you meet me half way?

[OkieSnuffBox]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

I'd apply, if you get the offer go tot he current boss and say look, i want to stay, can you meet me half way?

Yeah, I'm going to apply this afternoon. Between having internet issues earlier in the week, reviewing their doc sets for the two positions I was sent, and waiting on a friend of mine who is TW manager to review my resume that left Oracle last year, I've haven't applied yet.

And my fiance getting a job offer at Paycom here in OKC that is going to increase her pay by about 50%, plus lots of perks like onsite gym, $4 lunches, $2 per month health/vision/dental benefits, etc.

But it was just opened up a week ago so I can't imagine it's already been closed.

[OkieSnuffBox]

Got my application in. Was also contacted by another recruiter for a local position with the electric utility, but the pay isn't there and they want to put you on an 18-month contract to start.

Yeah, not making a lateral move salary wise to lose all benefits and RSU's.

[LOW4LYF]

Download the app Blind and you will find tons of information about Amazon.

[ipso_facto]

Originally Posted by OkieSnuffBox

Got my application in. Was also contacted by another recruiter for a local position with the electric utility, but the pay isn't there and they want to put you on an 18-month contract to start.

Yeah, not making a lateral move salary wise to lose all benefits and RSU's.

Interested to know what happens with your AWS application. I worked with three developers who joined in 2019 and early 2020. Keep us posted.

Happy 4th July

[OkieSnuffBox]

Originally Posted by ipso_facto

Interested to know what happens with your AWS application. I worked with three developers who joined in 2019 and early 2020. Keep us posted.

Happy 4th July

Thanks! Will do. I'm seeing tons of other remote positions with tech companies with my title "Senior Technical Writer." A buddy of mine is checking with Cisco where he is a PM.

I'm going to start really looking into other opportunities as well. My performance review is coming up in the next few weeks and I would bet a nice steak dinner me being underpaid won't be fixed at all.

[namesdev]

Amazon seems like a brutal employer with all their quotas.