I just recently left AWS after just shy of 3 years. The environment when I left was pretty bleak, but that could be because I left just after the layoffs (due to the return-to-team initiative, “forcing” me to move cities). Moral was low and people were really dragging their feet. From my contacts still there, it seems like burnout continues to be a real problem, despite/because of the attrition from layoffs and RTT/RTO.

Overall my experience was fine, but it will vary depending on the team you end up on. I can also only speak on AWS, as Amazon is essentially a different company. The tech and tooling is dogshit (except for some of the new stuff in Rust). Getting anything done is like walking through molasses, but the deadlines are scoped as if you can walk normally. Some managers are chill, others aren’t. Getting a promotion is a major pain in the ass, and they love down-leveling on hiring, so avoid that trap.

My suggestion if none of the above bothers you is to avoid any high-profile team, such as S3 or EC2. They know they attract everyone who wants to put it on their resume, so they have some of the worst culture I’ve ever seen (on-call you don’t sleep for that week).