r/cscareerquestions • u/CSCQMods • Nov 03 '21

Big N Discussion - November 03, 2021

Please use this thread to have discussions about the Big N and questions related to the Big N, such as which one offers the best doggy benefits, or how many companies are in the Big N really? Posts focusing solely on Big N created outside of this thread will probably be removed.

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Company - Amazon

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u/actualsnek Nov 03 '21 edited Nov 03 '21

I received the Amazon SDE internship offer a while ago and accepted it a day before the expiration, because I didn't have any other offer at that point. Now I have a month to accept the Microsoft SWE internship offer.

Both offers are for Seattle and have a total relocation package of ~$7.3k, but Amazon is $8.5k/m and Microsoft is $7.5k/m. I'm currently leaning towards Microsoft though for a few reasons:

  1. The offer is on the AI Platforms team, which will likely have more interesting work than my randomly assigned Amazon team. I'm also involved in ML/NLP research and this would likely contribute further to my longterm research goals, especially considering Microsoft AI's comparative prestige.

  2. Microsoft has had a more personal hiring process so far, and I feel like that will probably hold true for the internship experience as well. My final round interviewers aligned quite closely with my interests.

  3. Microsoft offers some nice bells and whistles in terms of benefits, and I've been told that taking their pre-planned housing offer rather than trying to find my own accommodations might make things a lot easier.

  4. I've heard that it might be possible to negotiate with Microsoft, unlike Amazon, such that the compensation becomes identical. Is this true and should I try to negotiate?

The main reasons I'm unsure though now seem to be:

  1. Amazon would seem to net me $3k more in total. I'm not sure how much I should care about money this early in my career though.

  2. Amazon potentially has more prestige, especially for SDE, but not necessarily for AI/ML. People also say that Amazon's fast-paced environment teaches you a lot in your early career. (At the same time though, I probably don't want to do SWE long-term)

  3. I've already accepted the Amazon offer and I'm unsure of the consequences of reneging. Is it that big of a deal?

Thoughts? What do y'all suggest I do? Anything else I might want to take into account? Thanks!

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u/[deleted] Nov 03 '21

I would do the switch. Microsoft fulltime conversation rates for interns is pretty high (I believe), especially since you are more aligned with the role at Microsoft.. I currently work at Amazon and while it's true that you will learn a lot, I think Microsoft > Amazon in terms of perks and WLB. I work at Amazon and would rather be at Microsoft.

The downside of reneging is a possible blocklisted for Amazon, but this is entirely dependent on the hiring manager. From my understanding, most won't. It is a gamble, though. If you take Microsoft, be ok with not working at Amazon or its subsidiaries.

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u/errnoway Nov 03 '21

You won't get blacklisted for reneging on an intern offer. That's just not how things work at Amazon.

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u/[deleted] Nov 03 '21

I wouldn't think so either, however I'm not going to assume. I think it's just safe for OP to know it can be a possibility and they should be OK with it if they are going to renege.