Help me pick a location for my internship with Amazon

[pwnagesarus]

If there is another time to live in Seattle, it's during the summer. Crappy traffic and slow drivers aside, Bellevue would be an excellent choice.

 

[Pollock]

Once again -

Take the job in Fernley! You'll be just 3.5hrs drive from San Francisco. Don't live in Fernley, live in Reno its a 30-minute drive down I-80 and live in downtown Reno. Reno is home to University of Nevada - Wolfpack - its a college town as well.

Reno is a weekend hub for a lot of Californians - great food, great events, minor league baseball, Truckee River, hiking & mtn biking, and boating, and if you get here early enough I'm guessing you'll be able to ski until mid to late June!

Nevada also is a Zero Income Tax state and the Casino's pay the majority of taxes in Nevada so the property taxes are low so rents are low as well.

Screw the entire midwest and the oppressive humidity!

Thanks for the info! That moves it up my list (although I still definitely want to be in Seattle).

How much does amazon pays their interns? btw, what is an operational engineer? What kind of duties are required?

My offer is like $2773/month, which I approximate as $17.33/hour. Which isn't nearly as great as their software development interns get (I've seen over $30/hr for them). I also have the choice of $800/month for relocation (probably taxed down to $650/month), or I can pay around $400/month to get put in corporate housing. So it's not as much as I made at GE ($18.75/hr with similar housing stipend, would probably make $22+/hr now) but more than NASA ($15/hr). I doubt I have any room to negotiate.

Money, cost of living, etc. are not a huge deal to me right now because I have plenty saved up, and I will still make plenty even if rent is higher in Seattle. I would rather focus on a) living someplace new, cool, and exciting b) getting to work for a cool, rapidly growing and self-investing company c) working in a different industry than I have before (everything before was aerospace).

As far as operations engineering... it could vary a ton based on what type of facility I end up at. If it's building a new fulfillment center, I could be designing the floor layout, where conveyors, machines, and people go, etc. Or perhaps designing some of the packaging equipment, I guess I'm not totally certain. It is probably oriented more toward industrial engineers, but I am a mechanical engineering student.

Now thinking:
1. Bellevue, WA - My best friend from high school is working in San Diego this summer, so I also want to be able to visit him.
2. Sterling, VA - close to DC, could take trips to Baltimore, Philly, NYC
2. Nashua, NH - could take trips to Boston, NYC
2. Fernley, NV - could visit Tahoe, SF and bay area, other parts of California
5. New Castle, DE - near a bunch of cities
6. Dallas, Phoenix, Chattanooga?

 

[Leros]

Thanks for the info! That moves it up my list (although I still definitely want to be in Seattle).



My offer is like $2773/month, which I approximate as $17.33/hour. Which isn't nearly as great as their software development interns get (I've seen over $30/hr for them). I also have the choice of $800/month for relocation (probably taxed down to $650/month), or I can pay around $400/month to get put in corporate housing. So it's not as much as I made at GE ($18.75/hr with similar housing stipend, would probably make $22+/hr now) but more than NASA ($15/hr). I doubt I have any room to negotiate.

I won't post numbers unless anybody really wants me to, but I got a different offer from Amazon for a software developer internship. Just wanted to say that the offers do vary quite a bit.

 

[Kreon]

I'm from NH, but not Nashua. I have to say that while Boston looks like its a nice short drive, it really isn't as short as it seems. You likely won't find yourself making weekend trips to Boston. If you do want to travel to Boston, try to get public transportation into the city. Whether its train, bus, etc, try to park somewhere outside the city and ride in. Parking in Boston is expensive and is a pain.

Nashua itself is a decent place. If you like doing outdoors things, the Lakes Region is easily accessible. If you like the beach there are a several around. Weirs Beach and Hampton Beach are both fun.

I should also note that New England is a great place to experience. Of all of the places I've traveled, its my favorite area (except maybe Alaska). I am likely biased because I'm from NE, but I love it.

 

[Mo0o]

Bellevue is a great option for the summer. Seattle summers are nice and mild. The traffic sucks but if you live in downtown bellevue it wont be an issue and you can just walk to work. Downtown seattle is 15 minutes away by freeway. Lots of hiking and outdoorsy stuff to do all around the seattle area.

Beware that Bellevue, especially downtown, is very yuppy. If you hate that, it might not be for you. Theres plenty of food options around downtown and others are at most 10 minutes away. Great movie theater in downtown, big mall, a few bars. If you want something quieter, there are plenty of Bellevue neighborhoods that are cheaper and quieter than downtown that you can explore.

 

[AreaCode707]

I won't post numbers unless anybody really wants me to, but I got a different offer from Amazon for a software developer internship. Just wanted to say that the offers do vary quite a bit.

Yeah, totally different jobs. They require different skills sets, operate in different environments and have different outputs and require WIDELY different things from the applicants.

Also note: If you have an SDE internship, make sure you seek out some SDE I employees to talk to for perspective. Talking to the SDE III and TPM folks is great, but those are a small subsection of the original SDE I pool, and they are the ones that made it through the trial by fire.

 

[Leros]

Yeah, totally different jobs. They require different skills sets, operate in different environments and have different outputs and require WIDELY different things from the applicants.

Also note: If you have an SDE internship, make sure you seek out some SDE I employees to talk to for perspective. Talking to the SDE III and TPM folks is great, but those are a small subsection of the original SDE I pool, and they are the ones that made it through the trial by fire.

Right. Totally different jobs, hence the pay difference. You would be surprised how many companies have a flat "intern pay rate" no matter what the position is.

 

[JBT]

If its just for Summer, mark Phoenix off, its way too hot. I'd personally go with Bellevue just to check out the area.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

1. Bellevue
2. Chatanooga
3. F everything else (I live in Vegas for 7 years, own a house and have at least 3 more here. Can't wait to leave)

I didn't realize Amazon had so many centers in Nevada. How come I don't have to pay sales tax?

 

[Born2bwire]

I would say go to Seattle. It's a great area and the weather will be fantastic during the summer. Only downside is Trident lives there but you don't have to worry about running into him at any internship! :awe:

 

[kstu]

something similar was said above about boston, but be aware that sterling, va is well west (at least 45 minutes) of dc proper and arlington which is where i would assume you would want to explore and spend the majority of your time.

sure there are some nice things out there (udvar hazy center for one), but otherwise it's very suburban and again, not as close to the fun stuff as you might think.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

I'd say Seatle or Vegas.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Ehh, I'd go with WA, NH, or DE as I think they would be the least hot in the summer.
Haven't been to any, but, WA interests me as it's only 1 state away from Oregon, and Oregon has tons of great microbrews, and the tillamook county smoker.... Never been there though .... some day I will eventually go check out Oregon...

 

[ravana]

1. Bellevue
2. Sterling
3. Carlisle PA or DE (3 hrs to NY, 2 hrs to DC)

 

[HardcoreRobot]

maybe NH bc i have family up there and its a beautiful part of the country in summer.

a summer in vegas would be sweet, id strongly consider that.

i have a buddy interning at MS this summer, so if it was me, i would probably do SEA so we could hang out. SEA is a cool place too.

sterling/NOVA is not a bad choice, but thats where i currently live, so not very appealing. you would probably want to live in arlington, so you are close to the metro and dc. it would be a reverse commute out to sterling, not too bad, but as a prev poster said, its suburbia.

 

[davmat787]

Ehh, I'd go with WA, NH, or DE as I think they would be the least hot in the summer.
Haven't been to any, but, WA interests me as it's only 1 state away from Oregon, and Oregon has tons of great microbrews, and the tillamook county smoker.... Never been there though .... some day I will eventually go check out Oregon...

Seatown has many great microbreweries as well. Not sure the exact number, but I would guess it is roughly comparable to Portland. At least it was five or so years ago when I was heavily into the scene.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Seatown has many great microbreweries as well. Not sure the exact number, but I would guess it is roughly comparable to Portland. At least it was five or so years ago when I was heavily into the scene.

I should add that I would LOVE to go to the Rogue brewery They just make so many awesome beers.

 

[blurredvision]

Lexington, KY isn't the largest city but it's definitely not the middle of nowhere.

As for Amazon here, I generally don't like that portion of town (Amazon, UPS and Fedex hubs basically on the same street -logistics). Lexington is a nice town though....other than traffic sucks (relatively speaking).

Nah, the traffic doesn't suck here, it's the drivers.

I actually used to the work at the Lexington distribution center years ago. It's basically an insanely huge warehouse with miles of conveyor belts. I never had to visit Campbellsville when I worked with Amazon, but it's in a smaller city and would be an "easier" living arrangement (i.e. not much to do outside of work).

Doesn't sound like you're even considering either location in KY, but if you do, ask any questions you'd like.