peterharris_sdeMay 31, 2026

Left Amazon after 5 years - making peace with it

Hack2hire Community · 2026-05-31T06:00:00.045Z

Left Amazon after 5 years - making peace with it Five years. L5 for the last two of them. I watched cohorts below me get promoted while I circled the same project scope through reorg after reorg. The honest answer for why I left: it wasn't any single thing. It was the accumulation. The 5th manager in 4 years. The project that got killed 2 weeks before my promo doc was due. The bar that shifted every time I thought I'd met it. I don't regret the time. Amazon gave me real ownership and scale I wou...

Career Development

amazon

21463.3k

Replies (5)

User-6r8e3May 31, 2026

"growth doesn't happen by waiting for systems to work in your favor" — keeping this one

110

thomasngo_sweMay 31, 2026

I was at Amazon 4 years in a similar loop. leaving was the best decision I made. good luck

110

User-ulshuMay 31, 2026

where are you going if you don't mind sharing

103

peterharris_sdeMay 31, 2026

still figuring it out. taking a short break first. have a couple of things in flight

lindseywatkinsMay 31, 2026

the promo doc timing thing is brutal. two weeks. that's intentionally cruel.

User-ruyoaMay 31, 2026

5th manager in 4 years is an org problem not a you problem. you made the right call leaving

No more replies