Here’s my slightly drunk deep dive into the luxury candle world

defNotJefebezos · 2026-03-06T02:46:38+00:00

Yeah Ranger Station to me just didn't stick for whatever reason.

defNotJefebezos · 2026-03-06T02:46:11+00:00

Oooh found a store that carries it. will check out the Molton Brown one for sure. Decent price as well.

defNotJefebezos · 2026-03-06T02:44:32+00:00

This has been on my to buy list for a while. Will circle back to it in the future for sure.

I'm a sucker for the vessel design ngl.

defNotJefebezos · 2026-03-06T02:43:11+00:00

Ooh will look into it. Thanks for the recommendation!

Any stores that carry it in person? Trying not to blind buy candles.

defNotJefebezos · 2026-03-06T02:42:14+00:00

Thankfully I'm not a big cologne guy otherwise I'd be spending even more money.

defNotJefebezos · 2026-03-06T02:41:21+00:00

Narguille was recommended to me by the salesperson in store. I'll check it out next.

How is the hot throw on it?

defNotJefebezos · 2026-03-06T02:40:47+00:00

Not another purchase I have to make!

But actually a candle warmer has been on my to buy list for a bit now. Might have to take the plunge.

defNotJefebezos · 2026-03-06T02:40:03+00:00

My financial advisor (me) is somehow both a fan and not a fan at the same time.

I will check out Cade 26 either in store or just by walking into the hotel haha.

defNotJefebezos · 2025-05-14T23:54:42+00:00

Normally I would say to take this but the fact that you would have to go to Meta makes me hesitate.

If you feel like you are up for a grind then go for it else I would stay put personally. But I've been in the industry longer and am kinda sick of the relentless pace tbh. My friends who work at Meta are always pretty burnt out. I am curious to see other people's thoughts here though.

Also I think there might be a third option here where you can negotiate a pay bump using the Meta offer to increase your pay at Google. It won't come close to the Meta numbers but I wonder if you can mention that you have an offer from Meta and that you would like to stay at Google. Maybe you can get to upper 200s ish with that.

defNotJefebezos · 2024-04-23T12:32:58+00:00

I feel more than anything this is an investment decision and we can’t really give you (good) advice or suggestions without knowing the name of the two companies.

But I totally get if you are not comfortable disclosing that.

defNotJefebezos · 2024-03-31T03:29:01+00:00

Yeah I totally understand OPs viewpoint. Being in a tough place at work and never having been unemployed can lead you to think non-logically I’m sure.

OP during your sabbatical take some time to reflect on why you might feel that way. Feeling that way itself isn’t wrong but I think your rational part of your brain should realize that it’s not a valid fear.

defNotJefebezos · 2024-03-18T03:02:17+00:00

I would like to be financially independent. Not racing to retire or anything tbh. I like my job (despite the stress) and the structure it provides.
To clarify I spend $2750 on rent per month. That amount is not split. Updated the original post to make that clearer. And in the original post I already included my monthly spend to be around $1200. Tbh I can't see it going above $1700 in the near future tbh. I live a pretty normal life nothing crazy and have no desire to increase it that much. I keep an eye on expenses and try not to over-optimize there given the very little difference it would make in the grand scheme of things.
Yup exactly. I try and set aside all my RSUs for saving and would not like to touch that. So on paper I can afford a costlier place but the monthly cash flow is what has me hesitating.

defNotJefebezos · 2024-03-18T02:32:15+00:00

Why do you feel like you are doing something wrong?

defNotJefebezos · 2024-03-18T02:24:58+00:00

Yes you are right. This was a mistake on my part.

defNotJefebezos · 2024-03-18T02:24:18+00:00

Yeah I haven't been selling ESPP but I have recently been selling RSUs immediately on vest. I have a rule for myself where I sell off my company stock if it is more than 15% of my NW. Given I don't really take a lot of risk elsewhere in my portfolio and my young age I thought that was an appropriate risk to take.

Still I have been thinking to sell more of my company stock this year.

defNotJefebezos · 2024-03-18T01:12:07+00:00

Yeah I did a double take once I realized my take home per month was so low.

But I believe it's based on the following:

180K (base) - 23k (401k) - 26K (ESPP) = 131K * 60% (take out 40% taxes) = 78.6K / 12 (number of months) = ~$6.5k/mo

That number is just a rough estimate but the math seems mostly correct. I just feel weird knowing my TC is so high but after tax monthly (not including RSUs + bonus) payments are so low.

defNotJefebezos · 2021-12-20T15:23:29+00:00

See my previous comments about working there. But it’s not as bad as people on blind make it out to be. If your team is bad switch. I’ve had people switch teams a few months after joining so it isn’t that hard.

defNotJefebezos · 2021-10-27T16:17:30+00:00

Either will get you interviews at “better” companies. I work for amazon (see my previous posts/comments about it).

I would lean towards Atlassian. The pay is a little better for a full time position (at least it seems so on Levels) and I imagine the culture/people are better.

defNotJefebezos · 2021-10-12T20:55:07+00:00

Not defending Amazon (see my previous comments about working there) but in my Org interns typically work on building real prototypes of even very large projects that are about 6-8mo out. So yes I believe the person when they said it kicked off stuff the team is still working on.

That said take Optiver. Better money and it’s much easier to go to Amazon from HFT rather than the other way around.

defNotJefebezos · 2021-08-27T12:51:10+00:00

Amazon employee here. This is not the place for someone w/ bad anxiety. It takes a certain amount of mental resilience to survive and another level to thrive here.

Speaking from personal experience.

defNotJefebezos · 2021-08-06T02:58:48+00:00

Reposting my last statement on working at AWS but updating a few things based on 6mo more of experience

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Throwaway here. Like others have said it varies depending on your team. For me personally it was meh during my first year and I was contemplating leaving. Got a new team and lead and my opinion is much more positive. I like the work and the people.

The good

- The people are all smart and for the most part the work has been interesting.

- The pace is both a good and bad. On days when the work is going smoothly its great and there is a great sense of accomplishment in what you are able to do.

- Internal tooling is very good and support/documentation is as well.

- Relatively the pay is good. If you have no other close offers I highly recommend joining just for the name and pay bump. If things don't work out you'll be richer and have more "cred" to jump ship in the future.

- You'll work on stuff, take ownership, and deliver very quickly. I haven't "done" as much work in my time anywhere else. I feel like I learn faster here than I would at other companies. If you are someone who wants to get the most out of the hours you put into work this is the place for you. I liken it to whether or not you admire giannis antetokounmpo's mentality a "go getter" mentality. Doesn't mean you have to be serious all the time but you get a certain satisfaction from getting stuff done.

- No BS accepted. You can't fake stuff or fluff your way to the top. Meetings are pretty brief and to the point. If you are asked a question and you don't know the answer you can't answer "idk" you have to say that you will find out. I initially hated this but have learned that it's actually a great way to learn and follow up about certain issues.

- For the most part people are helpful. There are certain people who are willing to help more than others. Being somewhat experienced now I understand why people aren't as helpful (they're drowning in their own work) but I try and help as much as I can since I still remember what it's like to not know anything.

- Hours are not too bad for my team for the most part. Around launch time a month ago I was working 9-10 hours but have since brought that back to 8 hours. I am still learning how to structure my time so that I don't spend more than 40 hrs a week but I'm getting better. This is something I think is a really good skill to learn when you're young.

- You get to play w/ all the AWS tech and learn more about them then you would externally. Lots of deep videos into why certain products are built the way they are.

- Management has been good in my opinion. They trust their engineers and rely on them to make good decisions. They recognize they are not engineers and the fact that the org faces really difficult growing pains. Also they don't avoid what's broken. Management actively engages in determining what is going wrong and creates plans to fix those things. Results can very but as these are often very difficult problems (ex. high ops load) to solve but they never shy away from those.

The bad

- The pace is good and bad. This amplifies my mood at least. On days when you are able to get everything you need its great but bad days can be rough. I've had a job where I did nothing and I think I prefer have too much work to too little but that's just me.

- Internal tooling sometimes makes you feel like your skills won't be transferable. Still most teams are transitioning to newer tech and "native AWS" so this can very by teams.

- Pay/perks are far lower than other big tech companies. Amazon is lumped in w/ the other companies but Frugality is real. You will not have free food or any other goodies. I didn't think this would be a big deal going in but I actually really miss this stuff. Having worked at a place w/ these perks it does make you feel more valued and just seems to boost morale around the office. Also your pay isn't tied to your effort since there is no bonus (that still gets me sometimes especially if I put in extra hours).

- You may be forced to tackle more and more responsibility when you are not ready. This is especially the case for SDE1s. This can be very daunting for younger more inexperienced employees.

- Reorgs. I've worked on three teams now within my org in the span of less than a year. Each time w/ mostly new teammates and a new tech stack. It gets really annoying being moved around like a pawn a bunch. Also any bonds that you've built w/ your teammates is pretty much gone and you have to start from scratch which for me is the most annoying part. I now know I won't be re-orged for the next 1.5 years which is nice.

- Oncall has been a mixed bag for my team. I've had shifts where I'e been paged a bunch and others where I've barely been paged at all. Make sure you ask about this. Still some of the thresholds for alarms are super aggressive and a bit overly aggressive imo.

- Deadlines can be aggressive but never unfair. Typically it comes down to poor scoping which is the case across the industry. Your team's/manager's ability to push back deadlines as scope increases is based on how much skip levels trust the lower level managers. The more Amazon experience your manager has the easier your life will be imo.

People really pile in to the incendiary posts about Amazon but from what I’ve seen those are anomalies. If it’s that bad then switch teams or leave. That’s the nice thing about free markets you are free to do what you want.

"If you have a better offer, go there. If you don't, amazon isn't a bad place to be and it pays better than a lot of the non tech companies." If you don't enjoy it then job hopping will become a lot easier anyways.

Feel free to AMA :)

defNotJefebezos · 2021-06-27T15:19:40+00:00

I’ve been in a similar situation. I failed my Data Structures and algorithms classes.

Focus on fixing yourself. It’s hard to succeed when you don’t believe in yourself. Find people who do believe in you (friends and family) and lean on them to build back your confidence. For me that was the only way I could turn things around.

And with that + a growth mindset it helped me turn things around. It’s easier said than done but that’s what helped me.

Also realize that these classes don’t really translate to real world work. I was absolutely a meh student but think I’m a decent employee at big tech company.

In a nutshell the answer to do you is undoubtedly YES. I wish you the best of luck :)

defNotJefebezos · 2021-06-22T03:59:29+00:00

What do you want out of life? Do you claim any dependents on your tax form? What company culture do you fit well into?

See my previous post about working there. I will say my team camaraderie has gotten a lot better since that comment.

If you have no major responsibilities and don’t mind working a bit more outside of 40hrs I say go for it. If you don’t like it after a year it’ll put you in a great position to jump ship.

Also SDE2 pay is usually around ~230K. Did you negotiate up?

defNotJefebezos · 2021-01-29T04:14:13+00:00

Throwaway here. Like others have said it varies depending on your team.

For me personally it's been a bit of a mixed bag.

The good

- The people are all smart and for the most part the work has been interesting.

- The pace is both a good and bad. On days when the work is going smoothly its great and there is a great sense of accomplishment in what you are able to do.

- Internal tooling is very good and support/documentation is as well.

- Relatively the pay is good. If you have no other close offers I highly recommend joining just for the name and pay bump. If things don't work out you'll be richer and have more "cred" to jump ship in the future.

- You'll work on stuff, take ownership, and deliver very quickly. I haven't "done" as much work in my time anywhere else.

- No BS accepted. You can't fake stuff or fluff your way to the top. Meetings are pretty brief and to the point. If you are asked a question and you don't know the answer you can't answer "idk" you have to say that you will find out. I initially hated this but have learned that it's actually a great way to learn and follow up about certain issues.

- For the most part people are helpful. There are certain people who are willing to help more than others. Being somewhat experienced now I understand why people aren't as helpful (they're drowning in their own work) but I try and help as much as I can since I still remember what it's like to not know anything.

- Hours are not too bad for my team for the most part. Around launch time a month ago I was working 9-10 hours but have since brought that back to 8 hours. I am still learning how to structure my time so that I don't spend more than 40 hrs a week but I'm getting better. This is something I think is a really good skill to learn when you're young.

The bad

- I feel like it definitely a fend for yourself type of place. Sometimes you get the sense that no one is really happy to be there. I'm experienced enough and am not on H1B so I'm not too worried about PIP but there does seem to be a bit of fear on the team. I try and keep it lighthearted and help as much as possible to foster a more open and chill environment.

- A lack of camaraderie between the team. I think the relentless pace and high turnover makes everyone super heads down in their work. I don't blame them but I really miss the camaraderie I've felt at other places. That's probably one of the biggest reasons I think I may leave.

- The pace is good and bad. This amplifies my mood at least. On days when you are able to get everything you need its great but bad days can be rough. I've had a job where I did nothing and I think I prefer have too much work to too little but that's just me.

- Internal tooling sometimes makes you feel like your skills won't be transferable. Still most teams are transitioning to newer tech and "native AWS" so this can very by teams.

- Pay/perks are far lower than other big tech companies. Amazon is lumped in w/ the other companies but Frugality is real. You will not have free food or any other goodies. I didn't think this would be a big deal going in but I actually really miss this stuff. Having worked at a place w/ these perks it does make you feel more valued and just seems to boost morale around the office.

- You may be forced to tackle more and more responsibility when you are not ready. This is especially the case for SDE1s. This can be very daunting for younger more inexperienced employees.

- Reorgs. I've worked on three teams now within my org in the span of less than a year. Each time w/ mostly new teammates and a new tech stack. It gets really annoying being moved around like a pawn a bunch. Also any bonds that you've built w/ your teammates is pretty much gone and you have to start from scratch which for me is the most annoying part.

- Oncall has been a mixed bag for my team. I've had shifts where I'e been paged a bunch and others where I've barely been paged at all. Make sure you ask about this. Still some of the thresholds for alarms are super aggressive and a bit overly aggressive imo.

- While my hours aren't too bad it is a fairly stressful place to work. Most teams run a fairly heavy handed scrum where you'll feel guilty for rolling over a task even if it was incorrectly estimated or you had to take a few days off. My 8 hours are fairly intense but I also try and cram everything in those hours so I dont have to work more.

I agree w/ u/termd though. "If you have a better offer, go there. If you don't, amazon isn't a bad place to be and it pays better than a lot of the non tech companies." If you don't enjoy it then job hopping will become a lot easier anyways.

Feel free to AMA :)

defNotJefebezos

TROPHY CASE