Pros
Amazingly smart (and I mean really smart and CAPABLE) collegues here. Pace is superfast and everyone are committed to a common goal: customer experience. Razor sharp focus means lazy, useless people usually can't hide and are fast fired compared to other places. Great place to learn and pick up new work responsibilities - because there are so much growth it means if you are capable, they are more than happy to throw more work at you (but dont expect to be paid for it). I still occassionally miss the constant high quality/caliber of smart + capable + dedicated people that are everywhere at this company - it is really rare elsewhere. I compare Amazon to the Bains/BCGs/McKinseys of the hightech work enviorment.
Kontras
1) Mgmt need to be better trained. Many people mgrs do not know how to lead. I highlight "LEAD" instead of "manage". Your experience as an employee here is dictated 100% by your mgr here, and if you are dealt a bad one, you're screwed as the company is too fast to notice what is going on with bad mgrs focused on only results and not developing their people. HR is in general useless and will not step in to help employees on these concerns. 2) Benefits are close to none. The company will make you feel you are a worthless piece of garbage via its self-critical culture (they take it too far), but somehow still give you a lot of stocks so your total compensation is still great. But you feel like a slave for our customers and newbies get burnt out by this. I got used to this as time went on but it requires a strong personality. 3) Intl divisions - especially Asia subs, are completely randomized and chaotic either in business direction or in mgmt capabilities as leaders - dont just focus on growth and make sure you have the right employee dev resources put in place and empower your HR people to actually do something.