Hi guys,
I am an Amazon employee, working in the Research & Development deparment, aka the corporate life.
Feel free to ask me anything, regarding
>Amazon
>general corporate life
>How do you get into corporate
>Anything else that is not confidential and that I can share without getting my ass sued.
Have a lovely Saturday and a cozy thread!
P.S. I do not work in the warehouse, but I do know of some of the stuff happening in there.
>P.S. I do not work in the warehouse, but I do know of some of the stuff happening in there.
Why do people keep applying to work there.
I'm a warehouse op for a supermarket chain and pretty much everyone I know at work would sooner resort to crime or homelessness than work for you guys holy shit?
Where do you keep finding these people?
Well, I am part of the european division so I don't know much about the US counterparts.
European warehouses are full of polish, Romanians, Albanians and moldavians immigrants that apply for work for 2 reasons.
>huge salaries, way above average
>sometimes stuff happens to "break" and gets written off.
Most people just go at the warehouse, sign up, work 3-6 months and then leave. It's a job that grinds your bones to a fine powder.
Ofcourse, there are many immigrant drunks that couldn't care less about work conditions and those are eternal employees.
Do you get stock options?
Yes, higher level people get stock options. Basically anybody with a 2-3 year experience gets the chance to have stock options.
How do I sell a documentary idea to Amazon? I've got a good one (a legit good one, that I'm sure would garner attention).
Well, it's the same as writing a book. My honest advice is to make the documentary and pitch it to a smaller company, and sell it on Amazon under their license.
There is the Amazon-licensed content programme aswell, but I wouldn't bother that much with it since it's overcrowded with requests and it's a really small programme / retail function. Just go for a local company first. Your chances are much bigger.
It's better for me to film it super low budget and try to sell it? It just seems like funding would make it more "watchable" if you will.
Why don't you just make a pilot / trailer, like everybody else? Make a pilot episode/film, a preview or something, and pitch with that.
Honestly never considered that. I'm an electrician. I'm not exactly sure how the film industry works. But I think my idea would fly with other people interested in documentaries.
well, first thing is to get going. Just do a small pitch trailer/pilot and send it to agencies. Or better yet, go there yourself.
Amazon won't help you finance and publish your movie/film, because that's not Amazon's main activity. We do indeed have special departments for books, ebooks and vidya, but only as far as selling is concerned.
Whats behind alexa. What are they hiding?
If I have back issues, joint issues is it honestly worth the pay in my area to work as a warehouse associate. I get paid 17 an hour for it.
I don't know anything about the Alexa project. There is a lot of programming and a lot of projects are happening at Amazon, and Alexa and that facial recognition grocery store in US being 2 of them.
It's not worth the pay as a FC associate whilst having back issues. In fact, you wouldn't last a full day.
It depends honestly on the type of warehouse where you end up (there are multiple types), but all of them are pretty intense and demanding.
You could try out and apply as a driver? How's that grabbing you? You won't like the first 3 months, but after you'll get used to it it will be pretty easy.
I am going to try the driver position, I just hear horror stories of warehouses but that pay is amazing, what is your typical day and route? It seems very stressful. Thank you for responding
I don't work as a driver either, I work corporate.
Well, the horror stories come from the massive shipments that arrive in FCs (Warehouses).
Imagine that you have to sort through 2000 boxes every day, and put them into the according conveyor belts. You have to manually check every box and it's content, scan it and ensure that the code bar of the item matches the item description from the website. If it doesn't, you file a ticket towards corporate.
Pay is indeed high, but you need to be a pretty sturdy and fitness fellow in order to survive the wipe-out routine, especially the holiday wipe-outs.
Drivers have it much easier, they get pre-determined routes at the start of the day. The route is calculated for 8 hours, you can make it in 6 hours or 12 hours. Most people report that if you have a somewhat spirited driving, you can finish the route in about 7 hours.
It's stressful for the prime deliveries tho, especially when you have retards that opt for one-day shipping and order at 11 in the night. Depending on the manager, you either take that delivery or you don't.
Former associate in a FC which is what they call the warehouse. They use a lot of retarded terminology to make it sound better. You won't last a day desu just because it is really painful on your back and knees. I work ina warehouse right now and I worked in a FC when I was 18 for 6 months and my knees are basically permantly fucked cause they refused to give us mats for when we have to get down on our knees and I'd often do it anything from 50 to 150 times a day (I was a picker.) It's fucking hell don't do it bud, if anything try to find a night shift at another warehouse, perhaps a supermarket chain or somewhere that you just sit down and scan items in (like I do rn.)
Btw the pay is only as good as it is because they know people won't stay there for longer than a year. If you can though, DEPENDING on the FC you probably have a chance to move up because you're actually one of the select few that care but you need to CONSISTENTLY hit 120% of your targets which is a good luck lmfao
Basically this. They have different roles in the warehouse so it isn't as complex as that but its more like imagine standing in the same spot for 12 hours, not allowed to lean, or sit anywhere, the canteen is too small so unless you can get there you wont sit down once for those 12 hours. You're also always kneeling down or bending over, again and again and again. It really does strain your body.
Being a driver is a lot easier, I know someone whos a courier and he starts his shift at 7am and ends it at 2pm which is less than the average work day (its a 6 hour shift) but he still makes a solid amount of money (around what I make monthly and I'm on $14 a hour on 8 hour shifts.)
Basically this. The average stay at an FC is 3-6 months, but a lot of people use the Amazon work experience as a spring to better jobs.
If you worked there, you are ready to work in a lot of places and you've seen some shit.
>you need to CONSISTENTLY hit 120% of your targets which is a good luck lmfao
Either that or wait for the manager to leave the seat empty.
From time to time I see FC Managers and VMs climbing up in the corporate life.
Are all Amazon devices sold at a loss?
Sometimes they go to charity too.
Alexa call the supreme consciousness of this sector.
what level are you
>Why do people keep applying to work there.
You don't even have to work at Amazon to know this.
Amazon pays well for people with no skills, education, or connections.
amazon was the most toxic, shitholed place I've ever worked, and for all that they don't even pay that well. It was a good name to have on a resume, but I regret not trying harder for FB/Google/Microsoft
L4. Can't say anything more tho on this subject.
Well, this place is usually a launch pad for next level companies. Life is usually about climbing, no matter how low you start.
so whats working in their warehouse like? is it true people are denied breaks and have to pee in bottles or risk being fired?
what was your GPA in college
Let me guess you work in Seattle. I'm a amazon warehouse employee.
It's pretty intense. The pee in bottle thing is not true in Europe atleast.
I'm in Europe.
tfw been working at an FC for over 5 years
What's the percentage of success for people who do FBA?
It's a pretty delicate question to which I am not allowed to talk openly without disclosing sensitive information.
FBA chaps are having a pretty hard time as they do not receive the active training that oficial vendors and retail partners receive.
There are also some other criteria of selection, which I am not allowed to disclose.
Let's just say that your only realistic chance of making money as FBA is to sell some really niche stuff, because the mainstream stuff is already steamrolled by the big manufacturers. Even there, in the world of big manufacturers, the battle is pretty intense.
Besides that, the information is confidential and available only to a certain department, and a few select heads of marketplaces.
>TL:DR want succes? sell niche stuff. Otherwise don't waste your money.
OP here, got 2 questions for you:
1.What was the most messed up item that you scanned?
2.How much stuff did you write off as "broken" in the past 5 years?
What determines price increases and decreases? Why does almost everything fluctuate constantly?
What is amazon R&D doing in Europe, where and what is the application / interview process ? I'm in western Europe with one year to go on my masters in math (doing a data scientist summer internship right now) and don't feel like going through the pain of begging for an H1B.
Lots of factors. It's pretty complicated and pretty confidential. The overall target is to always display the lowest possible price, and always work towards the lowest price possible. Basically it's about who gets the ownership over the buybox, and from that it gets really complicated and I'm not allowed to disclose that info.
Just go on your random recruitment site. Where you from?
It depends on what department you want to go, from compliance to catalog maintainance to vendor management to customer care.
Basically I did a phone screening, a foreign language test, a technical test and a face-to-face interview with HR and some team manager.
There are many operational centers in all of Europe.
Thanks ! I'm from France. I just looked up amazon's website but seems most data science / ML offers require 4+ years of experience... or only involve Excel / VBA.
How long and thorough was the technical test ?
Does it feel like Europe R&D does actual R&D that matters to the company as a whole or is it just adjusting for the local market while 90% of the work is done in Seattle ?
How long have you been working there and what was your previous experience ?
Would you actually recommend your workplace or do you plan on leaving soon-ish ?
>How long and thorough was the technical test ?
Depends on what you apply for. But tests are not that difficult, skilled people are hard to find these days so they sometimes lower the standards.
>Does it feel like Europe R&D does actual R&D that matters to the company as a whole or is it just adjusting for the local market while 90% of the work is done in Seattle ?
Seattle is responsible for Amazon US. Here in Europe we have our own R&D, and every single country has a special R&D division. There is some communication between countries within EU, but every market has it's very own vibe.
We don't really communicate with Seattle or Amazon US, except for I dunno some payroll related stuff and the occasional Jeff Bezos email.
>How long have you been working there and what was your previous experience ?
2 years, I used to be an service desk agent but they somehow picked me up.
>Would you actually recommend your workplace or do you plan on leaving soon-ish ?
First of all, it helps a lot to have in your CV written that you have work experience @ Amazon. Secondly, it's a great place to learn stuff. Most experienced amazonians start to be headhunted after about 1 year of work.
As for me, I enjoy the work because I don't work weekends, no nights shifts, work is at a decent pace. But if I got tomorrow a call from Oracle, I'd pack up with stuff with no regrets.
Think of it as an upper-intermediary corporate company. Not too bad, but also a great launch pad for the really hardcore companies.
whhhhy does seller support suck so much
also documentation sucks equally hard
I get product bulk upload errors and it can be impossible to figure out why
I guess I'm wondering how these departments operate, since they don't seem to know what each others doing in all the hours I've been on the line with them
Is a computer science degree enough to get a job at Amazon even if I have no experience?
Are you all talking yet about the inevitable anti-trust action?
How much does Amazon know about me?
If I worked as a CSA years ago but quit because it was a call center does that mean I ruined any shot at corporate (finance) in the future?
>I'm not exactly sure how the film industry works.
Shoot what you can then show them what you have
1. Probably when I problem solved and there was a used pocket pussy that someone in the warehouse cummed in.
2. More than I can even remember because there's always broken stuff.
As long as you don't have a negative record and you didn't shit on the desk before leaving, you are good. I used to work as a Service Desk Agent prior to this.
Nothing more than whatever info you entered in your account details. We do use your purchase history for various charts and statistics, but that's about it.
Nope, here in Europe we all chill af.
I dunno about US, but in Europe there are some entry level positions and just about every country has paid internship programmes. It depends on what area are you specializing tho.
Let me guess, you are selling by your own and you are not an official retail vendor?
This is inside stuff but I can somewhat talk about this. Retail vendors receive periodical trainings regarding the whole process, including how to upload in Vendor Central, how is the paperwork done and all that shit.
Third party people tho, they don't receive any training or support because there's simple too many of them and many people just make an account in order to sell their personal phone and their whole activity revolves around 1, maybe 2 transactions.
As of 2018 there is extensive on-going research in order to integrate the 3P vendors into the training processes aswell, but it's really slow since there are millions of people out there.
What errors are you most commonly receiving?
While we're on the topic of tech companies:
I've noticed that my Microsoft and AMZN friends are all very similar personality wise. Most of them in engineering, some of them in product. It's very weird. It's especially noticeable with the interns. They're all very much the same. Online (posts/behaviour on LinkedIn and Facebook) and in person. Same outlook on life, same lifestyle.
My friends that work at Google and FB are very similar too, but this is drastically different than those that work at Microsoft and AMZN. I suppose culture has a lot to do with it. I guess they're really good at evaluating people based on social fit?
What are your thoughts on "fit"?
Well, when there are people bunched up together they tend to get similar. Especially in big companies with thousands of employees bunched up in the same building.
And there are team buildings and events like that.
Personally, at the center where I work it's a total mess. We got literal nuns, we got actual genuine goth girls with piercings, chains and 3 color hair. We got genuine metalheads, we got douchebags that perfectly replicate Chad. There are many people with lots of talents, there is a large group of painters, there are some professional dancers who run their own schools after work.
There is even a gang of bikers.
I'm telling ya, this place is a mess, personality wise. The only thing that is relatively common amongst the people is that a lot of them make city breaks in the weekends, especially in the mountains. But other than that, it's pretty much chaotic. Except for the fit fags that circlejerk in the kitchens (men and women alike, shaking their proteins and flexing their butts).
Officially we are about 800 people crammed into the building, so you're gonna find interesting people everywhere.
But OP, goth girls died years ago.
Is working for Amazon good? I dont know where I'm going in life and want your opinion on what path I could take, I work part time retail right now but once I can drive I plan to find a job with more hours, maybe one day I can move out.
Well, it's basically the corporate life. Some people love it, some people hate it.
If you are the sort of person that is active and likes to do physical stuff, then corporate is not for you. You have to sit on a chair and do excel spreadsheets and solve tickets.
The plus side here at Amazon is that the work pace is decent, you aren't overworked, and the pay is above average.
Want my honest advice? Get yourself a job that pays the bills, and start up your own little business in your spare time. In time, you will be able to earn so much from your business that your wage won't matter anymore. I started a small beauty salon with my gf and I handle the paperwork and supplies in my spare time, and let me tell you that I my salary is quietly being overtaken by the business.
Working for someone will never make you rich, will never make you free. Only a business based on what you love will make you free.
So get urself a job that pays the bills, and start monetizing your passions and hobbies.
Sounds good, I was thinking about real estate as a way of making money, what are your thoughts on that? Starting a business could work but I know I wouldn't want to start a shop, the shop I work for has a really hard time competing with the other shops that are around, there are so many, same with chip shops and salons.
The first rule of business is to do something that you know about or of which you atleast have some skills. If you start a business just for the sake of money, you will fail. You need to find a need of your community, and serve your community. I can't teach you business on Jow Forums, but you can start by thinking what are you passionate about, what are you talented at, and how to turn your talents into a business.
When will my dildo arrive?
Thanks for the advice, I will think on it.
Where would one learn business by the way? Not sure if college would be the right place to go.
You're welcome, kid. I wish I had someone tell me this stuff when I was 18-20. But it's better later than never.
Follow your dreams, put your work in your passion and you will make serious money. Maybe not in your first year, maybe not even in your second. But by the third year you will be rolling in money.
Honestly, all you need are a few books. I advise against university/college since all the stuff is theoretical, and I advise also against coaches since they are mostly profit-minded and don't really offer value.
Books and practice is all there is to it, really. Honestly, I recommend reading "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill and "Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert Kyiosaki and you're set.
Don't fall in the librarian trap, like I did once. Don't read too much but apply too little.
Business is, romantically speaking, working from 6 am to 10 pm, 6 days a week, for 5 years, and then relaxing for the rest of your life. So do it now that you're young. God I sound like a grumpy old man.
It needs to pass the Quality Assurance tests first.
Okay, I'll take that advice to heart and get those books, I dont mind working hard for half a decade or more to achieve success, thanks again.
What is the corporate take on the poor working conditions experienced by those working in warehouses? do you guys think it's poor?
What is the most unusual thing to happen that you have witnessed in your workplace?
Success is 80% work and 20% talent. Who knows what talents you have, maybe you'll reach success much faster or slower than me. You will find talents of which you never thought of.
My gf for example, who is a make-up artist, found that she has an incredible talent in PR and customer care, just from talking to the clients.
I wish you good luck in your journey, and never listen to the negative people. And there will be thousands of negative people. Friends, family. This is one of the main reasons why people fail: They give into the negative talk they receive from their friends and family.
You need to keep going no matter what. I've been laughed at countless times and been told that it can't be done. I never listened. Because if I had listened, I would've ended up like the mediocrity.
it's a tragic story, those are inhumane working conditions. The European FC workers are ok tho, since we have the concept of worker rights and unions, but the american FC workers are all by themselves.
Sometimes the FC workers go on strike tho.
>What is the most unusual thing to happen that you have witnessed in your workplace?
hmm...
Work related: A lady once returned an inflatable sex doll because it had holes in it. The doll was soaking wet.
Non-work related: There was once this charity swimathon thing (We do lots of charity events) and there was this gaming night fundraiser. One of the games was poker.
We played Texas Hold'em, inside the office building, with whiskey and some nice volunteer ladies that offered some atmosphere (clothes on tho). All of this, for charity! We basically played poker for the kids.