
JP Morgan Intermediate Level SWE vs. Amazon Entry Level SWE - HN_Arbor
Will be graduating in May and got offers from these two companies. Any thoughts on where to go?
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ldoughty
Look at cost of living. I work in higher education on a small team, we
typically train 3-6 interns per year in software engineering and programming
with an emphasis on cloud and security. We see a lot of fresh grads enticed to
large companies for 6 figure jobs, but they have troubles realizing the cost
of living difference from even a heavy college town.

Total up your expected monthly bills (student loans, car payments, credit card
debt) and compare the cost of housing where they want you to work. Check the
commute times from 5-20 miles away -- is it a second job (10+ hours/week) to
commute to work? Is this an acceptable QOL?

I moved out of the city to work at a university, I took a 20% pay cut, but
gained an average 10 hours/week of free time and could afford a home 2400 sq
ft home instead of sharing an 1200 sq foot apartment.

So where do you want to live? What commute time will you accept?

I'd figure those out before even applying places. After that, look at how the
businesses treat their employees... And how their policies might impact QOL.
Most businesses in northern Virginia only give 1.5-2 weeks paid vacation to
entry level employees last I heard.

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godzillabrennus
Both will look great on a resume but where do you want to end up?

Amazon pushes you closer to big tech companies as you are staring out inside
FAANG.

JP Morgan pushes you to the fintech world.

My 16+ years experience tells me that either will be a great starting company.
I’d personally find the work at JP Morgan more interesting if you like
learning through osmosis.

Jeff Bezos started out in banking.

Finance is the language that unites all commerce.

That said, Amazon is doing big things and is going to be a big player in the
fight against this virus. There are worse places to be that will need help
from smart people (not that anyone will listen to a fresh grad).

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ev1
How much money do you want, and what are your morals like?

What type of living situation would you prefer?

