Amazon

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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Software Developer Engineer Intern

May - August 2018 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

I had a great mentor and manager who encouraged me and helped me gain confidence in my abilities. They were very supportive of me learning a lot and allowed me to have a lot of design control in my project and I learned so much. I can not stress enough how much I learned and I will be grateful for the experience always.

What I wish was different

My team was all male and that was socially difficult and I often felt not included, not because they were intentionally excluding me, they just didn't really talk to me.

Advice

You're not going to know everything, they're not going to expect you to know everything, so work as quickly as you can so you can run into kinks as quickly as you can.

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Software Development Engineer Intern

June - August 2018 • East Palo Alto, CA

What I liked

Working for Amazon was great. My coworkers were pleasant to work with and the pay was nice.

What I wish was different

Advice

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Software Development Engineering Intern

May - August 2018 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

My team!

What I wish was different

Advice

If you are doing an internship, make sure goals are clearly set for you

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Software Development Engineer Intern

June - September 2018 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

Nice people, cool technology.

What I wish was different

less design

Advice

It's always day 1

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Seasonal Associate

August - September 2018 • Portland, OR

What I liked

Not too hard

What I wish was different

More breaks, pay more

Advice

Not really worth it at the time but now since they increase it to $15/hour, maybe worth considering.

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Public Relations Intern

June - August 2018 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

My internship at Amazon was incredibly rewarding and I learned a lot of applicable skills. The work was meaningful to me because I could see the ways in which my efforts and my project were effecting Amazon customers in a positive way. This was so impactful to me because Amazon is such a large company but I still feel like I made a difference in my role. Also, my team was incredibly supportive and served as valuable mentors throughout my internship. They were also just fun and funny people that made going to work every day exciting. I really loved my internship.

What I wish was different

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at Amazon and I wouldn't change a whole lot about my experience. If anything, I would have liked to interact with other interns more but there are only so many hours in the day and most of my time was taken up working or bonding with my team. But I also loved bonding with my team and I wouldn't have traded that for anything so it's hard to say what I would like to be different. More hours in the day I suppose.

Advice

I would advise people to take full advantage of the resources you have while working at Amazon or anywhere for that matter. There are so many people who are willing to get coffee with you and chat about what they do and give advice about pretty much anything. There's also so many programs and after hours events that companies often offer and they're a great way to meet new people and learn skills that you otherwise wouldn't have access to. I mean just because you're there to do a specific job does not mean that you can't seek advice our skills from all places in the company.

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Software Development Engineering Intern

May - August 2018 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

I really appreciate the amount of autonomy I was given and the experience of relocating for the summer.

What I wish was different

I wish I had more say in where I was placed during the summer.

Advice

I would suggest making as many connections as possible and always ask for a coffee chat.

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Software Engineering Intern

June - August 2018 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

I enjoyed the work life balance, the work I was doing, and espeically the team I was on.

What I wish was different

I wish the intern events could've been better.

Advice

For the housing stipend, you should realize that it will be cut almost in half, so plan wisely.

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Central Operations Associate

June 2018 • Tempe, AZ

What I liked

Great offfice environment

What I wish was different

Advice

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Senior Human Resource Assistant Intern

May - July 2018 • Livonia, MI

What I liked

It was a lot of fun working with such a customer centric type of company. You can really see how what you do impacts everyone in the facility. Seeing the process from when an order becomes and order to how it’s sent out to their home is very interesting.

What I wish was different

I wish the internship was longer!

Advice

Always be curious about what you’re doing and never be afraid to ask questions. Use your resources as much as you can, they are all around you.

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Software Developer Engineering Intern

May - August 2018 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

I enjoyed the impact of the work I had at Amazon, the consistent and high quality mentorship I received, and the amazing location in the city of Seattle.

What I wish was different

I wish my team was slightly more talkative and the environment was more conducive to socializing, but overall I was really lucky to have as a positive and impactful of a team as the one I was placed in.

Advice

I would tell people to apply to early and never underestimate or undersell themselves. Our true potential is revealed to ourselves when we accomplish things we think we cannot.

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Software Development Engineer Intern

June - September 2018 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

Great mentorship and work dynamics.

What I wish was different

Advice

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Data Tech

July - September 2018 • Umatilla, OR

What I liked

The employees, the diverse work that was done, and how they were able to work with my schedule.

What I wish was different

It had been longer, and I would have been with more interns.

Advice

Make the most of it and deep dive on the subjects discussed. There is a ton to learn.

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Software Engineer Intern

May - July 2018 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

The team was friendly, the work was interesting and the pay was good. Everyone that I met at the company was very smart and they helped me improve my coding.

What I wish was different

Advice

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HR Intern

June - August 2018 • Aurora, IL

What I liked

Very interesting research project that involved problem-solving, a lot of surveying associates, presenting, and writing a professional paper.

What I wish was different

I wish I had more experience working with managers, more personal interaction with my manager and others for guidance and help on my project.

Advice

The work is very different from office work. You are working with a lot of diverse people (ethnicity, education, work history, etc.), and you will get a lot of varying opinions on the company, your role, and management. There is naturally a lot of conflict that you will be subject to.

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