Amazon

Area Manager Intern

May - July 2021 • New Castle, DE

What I liked

I enjoyed learning the ins and outs of operations at a delivery station. The other operations managers were great to work with and I learned a lot about the industry and future opportunities with Amazon. I was in charge of measuring productivity rates and learned how to effectively communicate with all levels of management. I created and developed a mentorship training program to improve overall productivity, quality, and safety while also increasing retention rates. Everyone was always willing to take time to talk about my project, college, and my future career in supply chain.

What I wish was different

Although I loved only having to work four, 10-hour days, I was working partially night shifts. My hours were 2:30 AM to 12:30 PM and it was difficult switching back and forth on the weekends. Although it was difficult waking up at 1 in the morning, I enjoyed seeing the operation from start to end and all of the steps in between.

Advice

One of Amazon's principles is "Learn and Be Curious". Don't be afraid to ask questions and get advice from all levels of employees. I learned the most from this internship just by putting myself out there and picking people's brains instead of standing back and being told what to do. I also learned the most from this internship than any business class I've taken. I was able to make connections and received an excellent review to get the full-time offer.

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Solution Architect Intern

June - September 2021 • Herndon, VA

What I liked

I liked the work culture and how everyone was very welcoming. They also emphasize their leadership principles and live and breath them

What I wish was different

I do not wish anything was different, I enjoyed my time and Amazon

Advice

1) Go in open minded. 2) Getting a FAANG (Big Tech) Internship itself is hard, but never quite applying and always try to improve yourself and better your brand

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Amazon Associate

September 2020 - August 2021 • Sterling Heights, MI

What I liked

Flexibility

What I wish was different

Work Environment

Advice

Try something different.

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Warehouse Checker

June - August 2021 • Boise, ID

What I liked

A decent amount of money.

What I wish was different

More employees since we were understaffed.

Advice

Good money but hard mental work.

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Sofware Engineer Development Intern

May - August 2021 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

Lots of help and resources. Learned a ton.

What I wish was different

I wish I had had more guidance at times.

Advice

Talk to as many people as you can during your internship, a great way to network and meet smart people.

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Area Manager Intern

June - August 2021 • Orlando, FL

What I liked

I enjoyed being able to receive an operations experience while meeting other interns and leaders in the industry.

What I wish was different

I wish I had more time to interact with the senior management.

Advice

Be ready to stand! Wear comfortable shoes.

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Amazon Associate

November 2020 - August 2021 • Tracy, CA

What I liked

The work schedule and hours.

What I wish was different

The managers.

Advice

Use your PTO wisely.

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Human Resources Assistant

June 2020 • New York City, NY

What I liked

With Amazon in general, I found that there was a lot of opportunities presented in terms of experiencing different functions of the department and it seemingly had plenty of promotion opportunities. The benefits were comprehensive and there were many resources to try my hand at trying to apply at different roles and departments with Amazon. It also looks great on your resume so it provides for good exit opportunities. Being remote was a huge plus. No need to waste time, money, and other resources on the commute. It takes off a huge burden. Office politics are mitigated due to the fact that you're remote. For how big Amazon is, it is very fast moving and very receptive to changing things. It is a big machine but if changes need to be made and you make a solid enough case with support backed up, higher ups will take a close look at it.

What I wish was different

There is a constant revolving door. With how big and fast-paced Amazon is, I constantly felt burned out. Workload was excessive to the point where it was denigrating to my mental health. Competition within Amazon is fierce, so though there is a plenty of opportunities, unless you are a top-performer, opportunities are not easy to come by. This is further exacerbated by the fact that your performance is rarely something that you can control and often influenced by external factors. Working at Amazon comes with many of the detriments that working at a big company comes with. Resources are plenty but rarely feels like they're approachable as you cannot speak with HR personnel directly but rather through automated systems. Burn out is super real. Every hour, every minute, down to every second is accounted for and your productivity is monitored and if it is not up to par, corrective action will be swift. The workload makes it seem like you are to perform like a robot rather than a human.

Advice

Be prepared for a cutthroat, fiercely competitive, and high workload with little break environment. Amazon is known for squeezing every ounce out of their employees and that notion doesn't come out of thin air. It is absolutely real. I spent many weekends paralyzed by the dread of the work week coming up. If you are able to hack through the high-octane environment though, it will look amazing on your resume and there are plenty of opportunities to be had and benefits to be gained if you just stick it through. Just be mentally prepared for what you sign up for.

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Product Design Engineer Intern

June - August 2021 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

I had full jurisdiction over my own project that the company fully planned to use. My manager and coworkers were great resources for me as I worked on my project and developed work skills.

What I wish was different

I wish I had asked more questions right from the start.

Advice

Don't be afraid to ask questions. You're not expected to know everything; that's the point of an internship. Also take full advantage of as many resources as possible and network to learn more about the company, career paths, advice, etc.

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Financial Analyst

June - August 2021 • Rossford, OH

What I liked

I enjoyed being able to work with different teams and master the role, since due to a management shift I was the only finance point of contact for a new site with thousands of employees.

What I wish was different

I wish I could have gone directly to the full-time role rather than having one year left to graduate.

Advice

Being willing to proactively learn and ask questions is how you will succeed. You can't prepare for every possible issue or situation, only how you adapt and act afterwards. So focus less on how it should go and more on being ready to adapt and learn based on the situation.

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Software Development Engineering Intern

June - August 2021 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

Amazon Internships usually are two types: relatively easy or crazy difficult. Mine was the latter. However, the best part of this internship is that I learn a whole lot. I got to design and develop a full stack system and became an AWS expert. It was a valuable experience just for the amount of knowledge I was able to acquire.

What I wish was different

The work could have been less stressful so that I actually get to enjoy the other aspects of the internship. I felt like I was grinding a whole lot because the project was so big that I had to spend extra time to work on it otherwise I may not finish by the end of the internship. I did not get to explore Seattle and etc as much because of this.

Advice

To do well on your internship, make sure you have good communication with your mentor and manager. Does not matter if things are going well or not going well, make sure you update them on the progress and never hesitate to ask questions.

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Area Manager Intern

May - July 2021 • Newnan, GA

What I liked

I enjoyed the atmosphere and attitude of the Amazon warehouse. From my first shift to my last, everyone treated me with respect and encouraged me to learn and ask questions. The other managers and upper level managers were always kind and helpful during my internship as long as I simply reached out to them with my questions.

What I wish was different

Advice

One piece of advise I would offer is to ask questions if you don't know. Coming to work in an Amazon warehouse is overwhelming but that is expected because most undergraduates have never been in any type of warehouse. What I found best was to ask questions and ask for help; don't try to figure it out on your own. Amazon stresses a team environment so most people are more than willing to help you succeed.

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Area Manager

May - August 2021 • St. Peters, MO

What I liked

I liked the flexibility of the program and ability to work within different departments within the Amazon warehouse.

What I wish was different

I wish the program were more organized in terms of connecting with other interns at the warehouse.

Advice

Own your development! Amazon is a big place and it can seem overwhelming, but remember that your managers and mentors are there to support and help you develop.

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Safety Specialist Intern

May - July 2021 • Aurora, IL

What I liked

There is much to learn within Amazon regarding their leadership principles and growing global logistics network. There are plenty of opportunities for interns to sit in on network wide meetings and get to know the many facets of Amazon - for example, watching history being made on a livestream with Jeff Bezos' launch to space in a Blue Origin rocket. Interns were also subject to APPT training where they learned every position in the warehouse. It was a great opportunity to learn the positions we would be managing and overseeing. The pay was nice and I was able to obtain some certifications for my resume during the experience. I did learn about workplace, health, and safety through shadowing of different managers and positions. My initial manager gave me two projects to focus on and I obtained several others along the way. Interns are expected to write a white paper to be turned in at the end of the experience as a deliverable product. Because I was not having the best experience in the internship, I did meet with the regional safety manager, which made me feel like I was important and valuable to the company. I was able to choose my hours which was one of the best parts about having the AAAA schedule. Safety specialists work four - 10 hour days which is nice considering one gets a three day weekend every weekend. It was a nice insight into what working 40 hours a week would look like, and what benefits Amazon has to offer along with that. Most interns are offered positions after graduation, of which I was offered but declined.

What I wish was different

With all that being said, there is a lack of structure in the intern program for the workplace health and safety roles. There are weekly modules to be completed, but some managers do not know what to do with their interns outside of some of the standard work. For the safety internship, much of the work involved sitting at a computer, and responding to safety calls as needed. I wish I would have applied for the Area Manager internship where I was a manager for a department and got to know the associated better, rather than work in a support department. I am a person who likes to be busy all the time, and this internship gave me time to slow down and take time on my projects, which I did not necessarily like. I am used to the hustle and bustle of school and like to have task-after-task to complete. My first manager left after one week, so I was left with another one. They did not have an intern previously so they did not really know what to do with me, nor did I know what to do with myself.

Advice

In general, never take the first place that offers you a job. After having an uneventful summer in 2020 because of COVID, I decided to apply for internships early in August 2020 so that I would have structure during my summer of 2021. This was the first internship I applied for, as I was recruited on LinkedIn, and it was the first internship I was offered in September 2020. But the kicker was that I had only 10 days to accept the offer. After accepting, I still explored other internships to see what was out there, and I really wish I would have waited and not said yes to the first company that offered me an internship. I applied for other internships knowing I would have to say no, but I still wanted to obtain the interviewing experience and just see what other companies would reach out to me, one of which ended up being AstraZeneca. I wish I would have done something more geared toward my major this summer, relating to Healthcare Management, but it was a great experience to learn what I do not want to do for the rest of my life. At least at this point, I know I can have a backup career in Industrial Hygiene if all else fails.

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Technical Recruiter

June - August 2021 • New York City, NY

What I liked

The broadness and experience that came with the opportunity.

What I wish was different

I wish I had more information prior

Advice

Be ready to learn and get the most.

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Area Manager Intern

May - August 2021 • Florence, NJ

What I liked

The independence. I did not feel as if there was someone hovering over me

What I wish was different

Longer training. I felt that because the facility was so big, there was not enough time to fully understand processes.

Advice

Always ask questions

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Area Manager

May - July 2021 • Fort Worth, TX

What I liked

I liked the fact that everyone is willing to help.

What I wish was different

Ask more questions about the company

Advice

Learn as much as possible.

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Area Manager Intern

May - July 2021 • Naperville, IL

What I liked

I honestly was not sure what to expect initially, but I had a great experience at Amazon! I was placed with an awesome team that was very supportive and encouraging. I learned a lot about leadership and production processes, and a good deal about production quality, as that was my project. It was a very unique experience, and definitely challenged me to get out of my comfort zone.

What I wish was different

I was impressed by how organized the onboarding experience was, but I think the overall experience is different for each area manager intern. Having a more specific goal structure during the internship would be beneficial at each site.

Advice

I would say to be prepared that every day is different, and requires problem solving skills, so you need to be able to be flexible and adapt to changes and make quick decisions. It’s very rewarding if you put a lot into it, so I would suggest being committed to learning each day and putting those new skills to use.

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Software Development Engineer Intern

May - July 2021 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

Good intro to working in big tech - all technology was completely state-of-the-art. Cool dog-friendly offices. Vibrant intern community that made it a fun and social experience despite the work from home policy and Seattle being locked down. Plus working for a well established company like Amazon has given me a boost in following recruitment cycles

What I wish was different

Team was overworked so mentors were always busy and gave very little help, so there were a lot of times where I got stuck on some internal Amazon red tape problem and was unable to get help. People also clearly don't really like working there and it has an impact on the office vibe.