Avantages
The opportunity to work on projects that have great impact both internally and externally. Ability to move around the business and not get pigeonholed into a particular function/job. Should be a more formal process... People think you work at a great company and are very impressed when you tell them you work at Amazon...that is unless they know better. (i.e. ex-Amazonian or know someone at Amazon)
Inconvénients
Lack of work/life balance. Burnout is the order of the day here. You are considered a slacker or not committed, if you work 40 hours on a regular basis. The benefits are average. They are not comparable to Microsoft's coverage. The compensation and stock grants could also use a boost. Heavy reliance on the stock grants in lieu of salaries. This weighs heavily on their retention problem. People are leaving left and right. They bail as soon as their stock vests, if not sooner. Their selection and development of the management team is a bit scary. Some people should not be managers. What criteria is used to promote people into a manager role?...Communication across the company sucks...little documentation, lack of formal processes, training etc. Too much focus on metrics and goals in each siloed department. Groups that work closely together are at odds with each other because their metrics and goals conflict with each other.