IT/Software career thread: Invert binary trees for dollars.

I interviewed for Amazon a few years ago and the base salary wasn't that great. I interviewed for a federal aws architect and spent easily 12+ hours in videoconferences with their "chime" software that they make you use.

I had a softball coding interview since architects don't code at all really. Where they hammered me though instead was on a presentation for "fedramp architecture" in AWS. I was actually kind of irritated by it as well, because I got told over and over again that it was not just a powerpoint sales position, but based on the interviews that's exactly what it was.

Anyway, the offer was 130k base, with a 75k signing bonus that is paid out over the first 3 years as well as a stock option that vests over the first 5 years. So the large amount the recruiter gives you is basically only realistic for your first 3 years. After 5 years I would be making less than I do now. This also included a bonus for maintaining a security clearance, so a commercial architects base salary would've only been like 120k.

The health benefits are good though. Better than pretty much any other company I've worked for in the last 10 years.

How good are the stock options with Amazon? What do they offer as a strike?

Mist said:

Well now you're just bragging. That's like what I make for doing similar stuff lol.

EDIT: Oh nm that was a presales engineering position. Not the same stuff.

I bet that would have been an easy fucking job. You didn't get commissions with that?

Click to expand...

No commissions, they were very adamant it was not a sales job and performance wasn't tied to sales. It probably would've been easy in some facets, but painfully boring in others. I hate powerpoints and vizios and all that dumb shit. AWS is obviously going big in telco though, so if you want to spend 5 years making cash, they'd be a great place to do it.

The Amazon stock option was in the form of Restricted Stock Units. I'm not entirely sure what that means, but the awards are structured in such a way that you get x amount (well say 100 for easy math) and then it's granted in increasing percentages for 5 years - i.e. 5, 10, 20, 30, 35. You can sell them as soon as you get them (or so they made it sound) or hang onto them with the promise that you can cash them out at FMV whenever you want. It seems like most of these guys do the big tech company tour 5 years at AWS, Microsoft and Google so they can vest in each one, then pick their favorite to go back and retire from or start their own company or whatever.

It does seem like over the last 5 years big cloud providers, Microsoft and AWS especially, have been scooping up all of the competent DoD contractors for their cleared staff. It's been tempting but I know that won't last forever.

Nirgon said:

These people are ALL over tech, and will quickly identify you as not one of them (I mean, you can tell they're one of em and they can tell you aren't).

Combine that with them being all over HR, and you'll enter the realm of dread if you aren't cuck blooded.

Click to expand...

If you work in tech get ready for obese, angry, less than qualified females backed
by the tech lead types simping for them, and letting them behave like psychos. Expect softballs and learning opportunities for them while you do the heavy lifting, often disguised as things that will be routine or simple (or something comparable to other taskables, you're gonna get the hideous outlier they can't figure out that's been in the backlog). If you're reading this, you're probably a big EQ brain so you will figure it out burning the midnight oil and be desirable to other places hiring based on it.

They'll be sent to get paid certifications that they almost magically pass by 1 point or go to cushy conferences where they bring nothing of value back, but talk about their trip.

HR got covered.


Big red flags to look for are people who all worked for the same place previously, coming in and filling out a department somewhere else. Typically it's because they get caught out by one company, and promotion/salary frozen so they go infest another place. The action point here is try to research who is on the team and if they've all come from the same previous place.

The government job I did for 6 months was this to a T. All of them were from General Dynamics originally and on the same team and in the same positions.
By the time I got in, they had already pulled this kind of crap and scape goated/run off 5 developers (I found this out seeing the Jetbrains licenses and who used them/when and it was 5 within 1.5yrs) by the time I got there. I nailed the project I started for them then got the hell out. They wanted to dump all their support on me and make me the only guy working there on Friday while they all worked this 4 day week they managed to negotiate for themselves. Thank god I can pass certs and interview well, they looked the part and I smelled it comin from the getgo.

MusicForFish said:

Saw this, maybe one of you can get a leg up in the world if you have the chops.

Click to expand...

Or relentlessly pursued by 3 letter agencies.

Nirgon said:

The government job I did for 6 months was this to a T. All of them were from General Dynamics originally and on the same team and in the same positions.
By the time I got in, they had already pulled this kind of crap and scape goated/run off 5 developers (I found this out seeing the Jetbrains licenses and who used them/when and it was 5 within 1.5yrs) by the time I got there. I nailed the project I started for them then got the hell out. They wanted to dump all their support on me and make me the only guy working there on Friday while they all worked this 4 day week they managed to negotiate for themselves. Thank god I can pass certs and interview well, they looked the part and I smelled it comin from the getgo.

Click to expand...

That's just how government contracts work. You either stay in the seat and sign on with the new company that wins the bid or you stay with your current company and move to another contract. Generally, you stay in the seat if you like the customer and the new company meets your current pay.

Was this DC/NoVA? I've worked at 3 different places over the last 15 years (WA state, UK and NC) and none of them were nearly as bad as people on this forum make it sound. Mostly competent people with one or two stand outs and one or two serious turds. About the same as my experience in private industry.

alavaz said:

Or relentlessly pursued by 3 letter agencies.

That's just how government contracts work. You either stay in the seat and sign on with the new company that wins the bid or you stay with your current company and move to another contract. Generally, you stay in the seat if you like the customer and the new company meets your current pay.

Was this DC/NoVA? I've worked at 3 different places over the last 15 years (WA state, UK and NC) and none of them were nearly as bad as people on this forum make it sound. Mostly competent people with one or two stand outs and one or two serious turds. About the same as my experience in private industry.

Click to expand...

East coast, DC area is close enough. Rest of the office looked cool and normal enough.