Things I Hate About Amazon (Part 1)

There are many aspects of working at Amazon that can be frustrating. Now that I've submitted my resignation, I feel more comfortable sharing my experiences, particularly the elements that drove me crazy during my tenure.

Today, I'd like to highlight an issue that, on the surface, may not seem significant: level granularity.

Amazon's leveling system is notoriously lacking in granularity. At Amazon, a junior engineer becomes a principal engineer with just three promotions: mid-level, senior, and then principal engineer (PE). In contrast, a company like Microsoft represents the opposite extreme—their leveling system is highly granular. To reach a similar level at Microsoft requires seven promotions.

The net effect of this low-granularity level system is twofold: pay bands are wide, and promotions are extremely difficult, especially at the highest levels.

Organizations tend to take a conservative approach to promotions. The reason is that demotions are virtually non-existent in big tech. If y…