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> I joined Amazon as an entry level developer. Within 3.5 years I had been promoted twice to a senior engineer, and I was practically guaranteed another promoti

> I joined Amazon as an entry level developer. Within 3.5 years I had been promoted twice to a senior engineer, and I was practically guaranteed another promotion to principal engineer this year if I had stayed. > My potential at the company was high, I was told. > My esteem within the company grew along the years and I was regarded an expert and a leader in my field. > People looked up to me and respected me. > I made $75K in my first year and that gradually grew to $511K by my last year. > I could have made another $1M if I stayed another couple of years. > My work–life balance was good too, despite Amazon’s reputation. > I didn’t need to prove myself anymore, and I could get everything done in 40 hours a week. > My team worked from home one day a week, and I rarely opened my laptop at night or weekends. > Also, the people I worked with were exceptional. I had three managers in total, and all were generous people with lots of empathy. I can't fathom the number of people who would kill to have 1/3 of this list, myself included. I'm sure leaving all this behind is good for now, but, as someone else said, you're in for a rude awakening when you're back on the job market and you're grinding like the rest of us. Enjoy the vacation while it lasts.

thorwasdfasdf 8y ago
He thinks all these things are attributable to his own performance, and that all he has to do is get hired by another FAANG and things will be just the same. Later, he may well be hirable but this type of advancement doesn't happen without a serious amount of timing/Luck and those stock market gains aren't typical either. I guess you could look at it as an act of generosity. the more people quit from those jobs, the more there is for everyone else. :)
- DVassallo 8y ago
  I'm totally fine not getting back the same compensation, level, company, etc, if I had to get a job again. I'm relying on being able to find a job that covers my expenses though, which I'm reasonably confident in.
DVassallo 8y ago
I don't need all those things anymore (and never did). I've visualized not being able to pull this off. That was very important for me to take the plunge.
kamaal 8y ago
Not being rude to the author, but I wonder how much of this is naiveté of young age. He definitely had early career success. Like most people in his situation it can be very hard to understand how hard life can be at the opposite end. When you are young, and have this kind of success without prior equivalent failure it can be hard to grasp how much you'd have to work to make that much on pure hard work and merit. It's easy to spend and throw it away, or even not respect the uniqueness and blessed situation you have now. Then you reach some thing like 35-40, and realize you have no luck going for yourself anymore. The best years are behind you. And you have to put in life devastating hours only to fail. And there is nothing you can do but suffer through it. Back from where I come we have a proverb in Dakhni Urdu which goes like this: People make the worst possible decisions of their lives when their stomach is full.

thorwasdfasdf 8y ago

He thinks all these things are attributable to his own performance, and that all he has to do is get hired by another FAANG and things will be just the same. Later, he may well be hirable but this type of advancement doesn't happen without a serious amount of timing/Luck and those stock market gains aren't typical either. I guess you could look at it as an act of generosity. the more people quit from those jobs, the more there is for everyone else. :)

DVassallo 8y ago
I'm totally fine not getting back the same compensation, level, company, etc, if I had to get a job again. I'm relying on being able to find a job that covers my expenses though, which I'm reasonably confident in.

DVassallo 8y ago

I don't need all those things anymore (and never did). I've visualized not being able to pull this off. That was very important for me to take the plunge.

kamaal 8y ago

Not being rude to the author, but I wonder how much of this is naiveté of young age. He definitely had early career success. Like most people in his situation it can be very hard to understand how hard life can be at the opposite end. When you are young, and have this kind of success without prior equivalent failure it can be hard to grasp how much you'd have to work to make that much on pure hard work and merit. It's easy to spend and throw it away, or even not respect the uniqueness and blessed situation you have now. Then you reach some thing like 35-40, and realize you have no luck going for yourself anymore. The best years are behind you. And you have to put in life devastating hours only to fail. And there is nothing you can do but suffer through it. Back from where I come we have a proverb in Dakhni Urdu which goes like this: People make the worst possible decisions of their lives when their stomach is full.