Amazon

Software Development Engineering Intern

May - August 2018 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

I was placed on a very important team with a fulfilling project. My team members were incredibly intelligent while also very helpful and nice. Amazon's internship program is very streamlined and fleshed-out so I was able to contribute and make a measurable impact while I was there. I was paid a very nice salary and learned more in a span of three months than I had my entire time at school. I did receive a return offer, so I feel relieved knowing I have a full-time position waiting for me after graduation.

What I wish was different

I really disliked Seattle compared to Pittsburgh. I loved working at Amazon, but I hated living in Seattle.

Advice

Internships are basically 3 month interviews, so treat it as such. The computer science field is extremely competitive, and will grow exponentially so as more people join the major. Going from internship to return offer at a big company is probably the most greased path to follow. Software (e.g. Leetcode) interviews are difficult and get harder when you interview for full-time positions (in general 2-3 rounds vs 5-6). I found it much easier to perform on the job since the skill set required is very different from what you need to learn to interview well. Being able to go through your last year/semester with a job offer in your pocket is also a huge plus in job security and as leverage for competing offers.

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Software Development Engineering Intern

May - August 2018 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

Interesting problems and was able to understand how Amazon dealt with developing SAAS products at scale. Engineers were smart and very helpful, management was strong (although this was team specific).

What I wish was different

Less corporate was really the biggest concern.

Advice

Don't be afraid to ask questions and also take time to learn about what the other engineers are working on - really try to take every opportunity to fully immerse yourself in the team. If you have the hustle, I'd probably recommend reaching out to senior leadership to ask questions/connect.

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Software Development Engineering Intern

June - August 2018 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

Work was really exciting and my project had impact

What I wish was different

I wish I could have learned more about the rest of Amazon

Advice

Go to all the tech talks!

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SDE Intern

June - September 2018 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

It is exciting to working in a company that is rapidly growing and expanding in as many directions as Amazon. It is growing at an extremely fast pace, and this is noticeable every day of work. Lots of cool intern events, generous benefits and salary, Seattle is an awesome city.

What I wish was different

Personally my project was very vague and open-ended. Thus I spent much of my internship doing research, trouble-shooting, and learning how Amazon's internal tools and systems worked. The larger part of my project was the design rather than actual lines of code.

Advice

Apply early to get on a team you are interested in. Take advantage of events, for both interns and Amazon employees. Get to know your team well and extract every piece of advice/knowledge you can from your fellow engineers.

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Software Development Engineering Intern

May - August 2018 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

The amount of responsibility and ownership I was given over projects was nice.

What I wish was different

More perks (something more comparable to what interns get at other major tech giants).

Advice

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Financial Analyst Intern

June - August 2018 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

Being a member of a team!

What I wish was different

More face-to-face time with my customers and business partners.

Advice

Push yourself to do as much as possible, above and beyond your expectations for the role! Set up coffee chats with people who are in positions you would like to reach in the future. Go to every networking event and speaker event.

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Sortation Associate

June - September 2018 • Irvine, CA

What I liked

Weekly pay

What I wish was different

Work environment

Advice

Drink a lot of water

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Financial Analyst Intern

June - August 2018 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

I liked the fast pace and having a lot of responsibility. Made the summer go by faster and I learned a lot of valuable skills.

What I wish was different

I wish I would have done more stuff that involved my knowledge in information systems.

Advice

Try to get the most out of the experience. Go to random events that the company puts on so you're learning new things throughout the entire internship.

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Financial Analyst Intern

June - August 2018 • Louisville, KY

What I liked

What I wish was different

I wish we focused a little more on day to day activities rather than just a large project

Advice

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Business Analyst Intern

May - August 2018 • São Paulo, São Paulo

What I liked

I liked working in a very fast-paced company where the interns do real work; I was in charge of analyzing results from a confidential project as well as making recommendations to C-level executives on possible next steps. It felt great to be taken seriously and to have people around me who genuinely wanted me to learn.

What I wish was different

I wish I could have stayed a little longer to see the project to completion.

Advice

A piece of advice is to always do everything to your best capacity; when I first started at Amazon I had no idea how much weight they would give to my input and my analyses, so if I hadn't done my best since the beginning higher-level employees might have taken action based on a job not well-done.

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Loss Prevention Intern

June - August 2018 • Monee, IL

What I liked

I enjoyed being constantly challenged by the job and feeling like I was playing an important role at my facility. My coworkers were incredibly welcoming and made me feel like a part of the team despite my short 10 week stay there.

What I wish was different

Advice

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Software Development Intern

May - August 2018 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

I loved how incredibly knowledgeable every engineer on my team was, and how eager they were to help me whenever I needed it. Also, living with over a thousand other interns in the heart of Seattle was the experience of a lifetime!

What I wish was different

I would have appreciated more structured activities with your team to get to know them better.

Advice

You'll have to learn a lot in a fairly short period of time to be successful. So be excited about learning and embrace any opportunity to do so since everything you learn will be useful for your career.

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Fufillment Center Associate

June - August 2018 • Hebron, KY

What I liked

I liked how the daily tasks refined my work ethic. I learned how to make important decisions under pressure. I also liked how welcoming the Amazon team is. The environment is fun and you get to make history everyday!

What I wish was different

Advice

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Software Development Engineer Intern

May - July 2018 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

My team at Amazon had a very relaxed environment, and I have the chance to work on interesting problems. I had very smart and helpful coworkers who helped me throughout my internship. I was given the opportunity to learn and grow.

What I wish was different

Advice

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Seasonal Associate

July - August 2018 • San Leandro, CA

What I liked

Very welcoming co workers and easy training

What I wish was different

More regulation

Advice

If you like repetitive, predictable work then this is a good job for you to make easy money

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Amazon Sortation Associate

July - September 2018 • Mundelein, IL

What I liked

It was a really good experience and environment to work in. They had a really diverse work community and all of my co-workers were very friendly and polite. The work itself was actually a really great work out because there was a lot of lifting and walking throughout my whole shift.

What I wish was different

Although my experience in Amazon was great, there were still some things I wish were different such as the temperature in the building. Since we did a lot of heavy work and cardio during our shift, it was very warm in the building so if there was at least some air conditioning in the building, then it would be a lot better.

Advice

If you want to have a better work experience, you should have a positive attitude throughout your shift and have friendly conversations with your co-workers once in a while-- that way work won't be boring or hard. I also feel like time flies by faster if you're having fun.

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Warehouse Clerk

May 2017 • Carlisle, PA

What I liked

What I wish was different

Advice

Don't be afraid to ask questions and talk to upper management. One of the building supervisors wrote me a recommendation letter for grad school.

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Junior Software Developer

May 2018 • San Luis Obispo, CA

What I liked

I love that the work I did and am doing was real. I wasn't sectioned off to do projects that were put aside just for interns. While smaller in scope and not as time-sensitive, the work I did was just like the senior developers would do. I also love the level of autonomy I was given. I was given a project and requirements, and I was able to ask questions of my mentor or other team members whenever I needed, but I was given lots of freedom to complete my work the way I saw fit; I owned my project from beginning to end. I learned a ton about industry, with code reviews and regular meetings for looking ahead or checking in. Most importantly, I was given access to real systems that supported thousands of daily users, and I was able to dive deeply into these systems to learn about them. I also really valued the amount I had to learn on my own. I spent (and still spend) many hours reading documentation, learning about tools made by other teams, and trying to figure out how to best use the tools available to me. Oftentimes, it was frustrating to have to do so much learning and reading before actually getting to writing code, but the lessons I learned from it were extremely valuable. The fun activities that my office planned for the summer Jr. Devs were also lots of fun, and they led to some good friendships and connections going into this new school year.

What I wish was different

My main complaint was the amount the requirements changed for my summer project. I would design and implement a project almost to completion before being told that a fundamental requirement had to change. While this was extremely frustrating at times, it helped me learn about and get used to the way the real world is - it wasn't just projects with well defined requirements and a clear end goal, but it's a constant back and forth to ensure that the product I was making was the product that our system's real clients would use and enjoy.

Advice

I would say that it is super important to ask questions. I often hesitated to ask about things for fear of being seen as needy or incompetent; however, my mentor and teammates were always happy to help. If I had asked more questions in the beginning, I think I would have been much faster and much more productive as the summer progressed.

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Warehouse Associate

July - September 2018 • Hillsboro, OR

What I liked

The work pace is fast and hard there, so you can get a very solid workout working there, while getting paid a decent wage for it. The managers are also fantastic, and want to see you do as well as possible. The hours are also fairly flexible, so you can definitely make the job work for you.

What I wish was different

There weren't a lot of people there other than the supervisors and managers that really wanted to talk to me, despite my general friendliness and willingness to help, so I definitely wish that I had met some more talkative people while there.

Advice

Know going in that if you work hard, you can make some great opportunities for yourself here. Be willing to learn new departments, offer to help where you can, and really try to understand how the job works, and you'll more than excel at this position.

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Central Ops associate

June - August 2018 • Tempe, AZ

What I liked

Comfortable working conditions, friendly co-workers and leads, timeliness. Manageable difficulty.

What I wish was different

Shifts were based around business need, so they were not conventional. Dispatching took place almost all the time, so there were overnights, early mornings, and a few mid-day shifts.

Advice

It was a good summer job, and there is definitely time to reflect about what you would want to do over the summer. I wish I had looked sooner for employment though.

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