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I don't work in SV so maybe my comment doesn't matter but most of these things seem pretty trivial.... > - Equity vesting schedule is 5%, 15%, 40%, 40% over 4

I don't work in SV so maybe my comment doesn't matter but most of these things seem pretty trivial.... > - Equity vesting schedule is 5%, 15%, 40%, 40% over 4 years I haven no equity in my company or opportunity to get any. > - Relocation package is prorated for TWO years. If you leave after staying for a full year, you still need to return 50% of it. I don't think my company offers any relocation packages (I could be wrong on that) but even so this policy doesn't strike me as completely crazy. > - 401K matching only vests after working for 3 years. If you leave within 3 years, no matching for you whatsoever. My vesting schedule only vests after 6 years (with 20 percent vesting every year after the first). It's not great but on average it's not the worst AFAICT. > - No tuition reimbursement. Want to get a part-time masters in CS? Pay it yourself > - No catered food. No free soda. No free snacks. If you are hungry, you can eat at one of the shltty cafes. Both of these... We have nothing like it at all, I'd kill for a "shitty cafe". We have coffee and that's about it. This comment comes of as extremely spoiled to me. > - Obnoxious oncall routines. You are woken up 3:30am waiting for the event to be over. Why not automate things? Because replacing people is cheaper than building great software! My job doesn't include being on call but I work with people who are, I don't fully understand what this bit is talking about. Are you woken up just to be told your "shift" is starting or is this just referencing being woken up because there is a problem? Cause that's kind of the definition of being on call.... Maybe I'm just naive and stupid to think my job is good (every job could be better of course) but from where I'm sitting 90% of your comment comes off as entitled and spoiled and it colors the rest of it.

jordache 10y ago
i think his complaint is in the context of amazon's aggresive and stressful work culture. For all of that, you ought to get some pretty good benefits
herge 10y ago
Whatever your work conditions may be, it still stinks for him to be given an offer on paper which looks comparable to other companies of Amazon's reach, and yet in the small print wind up being a lot worse.
- numbsafari 10y ago
  If you don't like the fine print, don't take the offer? Why be offended by an offer? It's just an offer. Counter or just say "no". Being offended is a waste of time.
- ensignavenger 10y ago
  Well, they didn't post their offer letter, so we have no idea if those details were in "small print" or not.
t05ter 10y ago
I understand where you're coming from as I've worked both in and outside of SV (Amazon isn't in SV but shares the culture). Though it may look like they're asking for a lot, it has to do with the demanding nature of the jobs they're working. To answer your question about being woke up in the middle of the night, there is no such thing as a "shift". Most of us are expected to work at the very least 60 hour work weeks (no additional pay, everyone is salaried), with many jobs beings 'always on', extending our work into nights and weekends with take home laptops. A typical (though not universal) day at Amazon is like follows: - Wake up and open laptop to check emails and get some work in. - Shower, eat, etc. before going into work. - Work until around 7-8pm. - Come home and eat, then open up laptop to work (maybe with the tv on in the background) up until going to bed. Waking hours are pretty much consumed by work, and on weekends a lot of people will do a couple hours here and there and between other things, to stay current with issues. If people in SV look like they're asking for a lot or getting upset over petty things, it's because of the sheer soul sucking amount of work that's being imposed on them. Small conveniences like a catered cafe makes the difference in helping them work through it.
- electriclove 10y ago
  That culture sounds depressing. Not all companies (in and out of SV) work like that. The good thing is that you likely have a skill in high demand and can find a company with a better work culture. There are definitely many that value work/life balance and still pay well.
  - t05ter 10y ago
    It's definitely not an ideal life, but seems to be increasingly the norm among individual contributor positions at the big guys (Google, Apple, Amazon, etc). What's more is that on paper, these same companies espouse 'work-life' balance, while those who try to leave there laptops at work after hours end up on probation like the individual in this article.
- antisthenes 10y ago
  What exactly do they do that requires 60 hours of work and no less? When you say "check emails", can you describe the typical task that would be assigned to employee? I ask because it all seems very vague as to what the employees actually do. Are they all software engineers? Customer service? Which ones are overworked?
clifanatic 10y ago
Yeah, same here (more or less): I think Amazon doesn't compare favorably to Google or Facebook, but it compares pretty well to almost every other employer out there...

jordache 10y ago

i think his complaint is in the context of amazon's aggresive and stressful work culture. For all of that, you ought to get some pretty good benefits

herge 10y ago

Whatever your work conditions may be, it still stinks for him to be given an offer on paper which looks comparable to other companies of Amazon's reach, and yet in the small print wind up being a lot worse.

numbsafari 10y ago
If you don't like the fine print, don't take the offer? Why be offended by an offer? It's just an offer. Counter or just say "no". Being offended is a waste of time.
ensignavenger 10y ago
Well, they didn't post their offer letter, so we have no idea if those details were in "small print" or not.

t05ter 10y ago

I understand where you're coming from as I've worked both in and outside of SV (Amazon isn't in SV but shares the culture). Though it may look like they're asking for a lot, it has to do with the demanding nature of the jobs they're working. To answer your question about being woke up in the middle of the night, there is no such thing as a "shift". Most of us are expected to work at the very least 60 hour work weeks (no additional pay, everyone is salaried), with many jobs beings 'always on', extending our work into nights and weekends with take home laptops. A typical (though not universal) day at Amazon is like follows: - Wake up and open laptop to check emails and get some work in. - Shower, eat, etc. before going into work. - Work until around 7-8pm. - Come home and eat, then open up laptop to work (maybe with the tv on in the background) up until going to bed. Waking hours are pretty much consumed by work, and on weekends a lot of people will do a couple hours here and there and between other things, to stay current with issues. If people in SV look like they're asking for a lot or getting upset over petty things, it's because of the sheer soul sucking amount of work that's being imposed on them. Small conveniences like a catered cafe makes the difference in helping them work through it.

electriclove 10y ago
That culture sounds depressing. Not all companies (in and out of SV) work like that. The good thing is that you likely have a skill in high demand and can find a company with a better work culture. There are definitely many that value work/life balance and still pay well.
- t05ter 10y ago
  It's definitely not an ideal life, but seems to be increasingly the norm among individual contributor positions at the big guys (Google, Apple, Amazon, etc). What's more is that on paper, these same companies espouse 'work-life' balance, while those who try to leave there laptops at work after hours end up on probation like the individual in this article.
antisthenes 10y ago
What exactly do they do that requires 60 hours of work and no less? When you say "check emails", can you describe the typical task that would be assigned to employee? I ask because it all seems very vague as to what the employees actually do. Are they all software engineers? Customer service? Which ones are overworked?

clifanatic 10y ago

Yeah, same here (more or less): I think Amazon doesn't compare favorably to Google or Facebook, but it compares pretty well to almost every other employer out there...