How Does Compensation Work at Amazon? (2024)

How Does Compensation Work at Amazon? (1)

Here is a little more detail about when to receive your stock vests:

  • End of year one – 5% of the initial grant ($30,000)
  • End of year two – 15% ($90,000)
  • Six months later – 20% ($120,00)
  • End of year three 20% ($120,000) for a total of $240,000 in year 3
  • Six months later – 20% ($120,000)
  • End of year four – 20% ($120,000) for a total of $240,000 in year 4
  • Your total stock vests = $600,000

You will notice a big difference in RSUs between years one and two, and years three and four. Your on-hire bonus essentially makes up that compensation difference in the first couple of years with the company. Your year one on-hire bonus is almost always going to be a bit bigger than your year two on-hire bonus, because in the second year you have 10% more of your stock vesting.

You’ll also notice that in years one and two, much more of your Amazon compensation is fixed, whereas the longer you’re with the company the more variable your compensation becomes. This is because the value of your RSUs are directly tied to the stock price of Amazon (remember above when we mentioned the increase to the maximum base salary – this is where you will see the benefit of that change). When it comes to the income generated by your RSUs, obviously, if Amazon does really well, you could experience positive spikes in your compensation. However, if Amazon’s stock price doesn’t do as well, you could see your total compensation remain relatively flat, or if the stock price drops you could see your total compensation go down. We have another article that will provide you with some insight on how to think about investing your Amazon RSUs.

What does an increase to the base salary mean for Amazon employees in the long-term?

On the positive side of things, this means employees may have less of their income tied to RSUs. There are two reasons this can be beneficial:

  • You can expect a larger paycheck on a regular basis, making it easier to budget, plan, and save. There is no way of knowing how much income will come from future vesting shares of Amazon stock.
  • It will be easier to keep your investment portfolio diversified and to avoid building up a concentrated position of Amazon stock.

On the downside, it may be more challenging for some when it comes to building long-term savings. We realize that many employees use their RSUs as a long-term saving strategy by allowing their RSUs to build up over time. These shares tend to be out of sight, out of mind, which essentially is a form of forced savings. [Not what we recommend this but it happens all the time.] By shifting some of this compensation to a paycheck, it puts more of the savings onus on the employee.

When Amazon announced the base pay increase, they also announced a change for when employees would be compensated after a promotion. Rather than waiting until the next compensation cycle, now managers will review compensation at the time of a promotion, and issue additional stock awards mid-year as warranted. A win for newly promoted Amazon employees!

Long-term Planning for Amazon Employees

We encourage Amazon employees to develop a strategy for managing your RSUs based on your financial goals and needs.

How Does Compensation Work at Amazon? (2024)

FAQs

What is typical Amazon compensation? ›

Amazon.com Inc Jobs by Salary
Job TitleRangeAverage
Operations ManagerRange:$60k - $137kAverage:$92,466
Software EngineerRange:$86k - $163kAverage:$120,510
Program Manager (Unspecified Type / General)Range:$69k - $126kAverage:$93,654
Senior Program Manager (Unspecified Type / General)Range:$103k - $163kAverage:$133,939
3 more rows

Is Amazon compensation competitive? ›

Understanding the Compensation Components of an Amazon Job Offer. Amazon's salaries are competitive with other tech companies, but their compensation and benefits differ slightly compared to other FAANG companies. Understanding those components before you start negotiating is key to setting yourself up for success.

Does Amazon expect you to negotiate salary? ›

Amazon expects you to negotiate your offer

Instead, we expect you to negotiate with us.” There are two reasons why this happens. First, Amazon generates individual candidates' offers in a semi-automatic way. Amazon recruiters pass the candidate's details to the Compensation and Benefits team and receive a number.

What is the total compensation for level 8 at Amazon? ›

The highest paying role reported at Amazon is Software Engineering Manager at the L8 level with a yearly total compensation of $1,076,181. This includes base salary as well as any potential stock compensation and bonuses. The median yearly total compensation reported at Amazon is $205,559.

How much of a raise does Amazon give you on? ›

Increases to base pay ranged anywhere from 3% to 60% depending on role and tenure, according to pay statements viewed by Insider and interviews with current employees. In February, Amazon announced it would raise its base pay cap from a maximum of $160,000 for most roles to $350,000.

How much does a Level 4 make at Amazon? ›

How much does an Amazon Level 4 make? As of Jun 13, 2023, the average annual pay for an Amazon Level 4 in the United States is $71,840 a year. Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $34.54 an hour. This is the equivalent of $1,381/week or $5,986/month.

Do Amazon pay bonuses? ›

The current sign-on bonus offer is restricted to new or returning Amazon associates, and senior employees (L4 and above). Most employees that are already working at Amazon are not eligible for this sign-on bonus. The sign-on bonus ranges in terms of pay, from $1,000 up to as much as $3,000.

What does Tier 3 at Amazon pay? ›

The estimated total pay for a Tier III Process Assistant at Amazon is $28 per hour. This number represents the median, which is the midpoint of the ranges from our proprietary Total Pay Estimate model and based on salaries collected from our users. The estimated base pay is $22 per hour.

Where does Amazon pay the most? ›

Average Pay By State For Amazon
RankStateHourly Rate
1California$34.70
2Washington$34.62
3Oregon$31.87
4Nevada$30.28
16 more rows

Is PTO negotiable at Amazon? ›

other companies, especially if you have a competing offer. For example, Amazon only offers 2 weeks of vacation (even for senior roles). That said, it is nearly impossible to negotiate a change in benefits into your contract. The reason to bring this up is as leverage to increase your total compensation.

What is an L8 at Amazon? ›

L7 - Principal Product Manager. L8 - Director. L9 - Senior Director.

Do Amazon employees get stock every year? ›

Amazon employees often get additional RSU grants on an annual basis, most commonly during their annual review and compensation adjustment which happens in Q1 of each year. If you're new, you typically won't get additional shares awarded at your first review, so don't be alarmed if this happens to you.

What is Amazon lv7 salary? ›

As of Jun 11, 2023, the average annual pay for an Amazon Level 7 in the United States is $71,840 a year.

What is level 5 base pay at Amazon? ›

The average salary for a L5 Area Manager is $73,098 per year in United States, which is 56% lower than the average Amazon salary of $166,312 per year for this job.

How much do L5 make at Amazon? ›

Amazon L5 Operations Manager Salary | $81K-$200K+ | Levels.

How much is the 6 month raise at Amazon? ›

30-. 50 every 6 months and they will not negotiate on hourly pay.

Will Amazon increase pay in 2023? ›

Amazon corporate employees will be paid up to 50% less in 2023 due to its falling share price, the WSJ reported. Amazon's pay packets rely heavily on stock awards, making them vulnerable to price fluctuations. The tech giant is laying off 18,000 employees, its largest ever job cuts, amid weakening economic conditions.

How much does Amazon pay for 1 hour? ›

The average Amazon.com salary ranges from approximately $30,000 per year for Inventory Counter to $171,653 per year for Director. Average Amazon.com hourly pay ranges from approximately $13.00 per hour for Catering Assistant to $52.78 per hour for Recruiter.

What is a Tier 3 associate at Amazon? ›

Maintains expert-level knowledge in at least two production departments; evaluates and improves processes within work areas; refines learning tools and techniques across the FC. Assists in measuring the effectiveness of learning; develops, maintains and applies learning to encourage associate development.

How long does it take to become an L4 at Amazon? ›

It takes at least two years of blue badge (full-time entry level employee) experience to be eligible for an L4 AM position – which is the lowest AM rank.

How much do low level Amazon employees make? ›

The estimated total pay for a Entry Level at Amazon is $29 per hour.

Does Amazon give a Christmas bonus? ›

Amazon, which reported a third-quarter profit of US$6.3 billion and revenue of US$96.1 billion last month, is spending more than US$500 million on Christmas bonuses for its hundreds of thousands of frontline employees in the US and UK who are working the holiday season amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Does Amazon give a 2 year bonus? ›

The bonus is paid out with every paycheck, so in essence it's just additional salary for the first two years you are at Amazon. As a quick example: If you were entitled to a $60,000 year one sign-on bonus, you will receive an additional $5,000 per paycheck.

Does Amazon give $1,000 bonus? ›

Details of the Amazon sign-on bonus

The sign-on bonus ranges in terms of pay, from $1,000 up to as much as $3,000. However, at a few Amazon locations, the company is offering T1 associates up to $5,000 for the sign-on bonus.

What is Tier 2 pay at Amazon? ›

The Reserve Tier II amount is 3% of your daily processed payments averaged over the past 28 days or the total amount of any unresolved transaction disputes (chargebacks and Amazon Pay A-to-z Guarantee claims), whichever is greater.

How much does a Tier 2 make at Amazon? ›

As of Jun 12, 2023, the average annual pay for an Amazon L2 in the United States is $89,470 a year.

Is it easy to get promoted at Amazon? ›

Getting a promotion at Amazon isn't easy. Indeed, some say the process is brutal. And moving up may have more do to with your boss's ability to present your case than how well you actually perform your job.

What is the best job in Amazon? ›

Best Amazon Jobs
  • Learning Specialist I. Average Salary: $72K-$107K. ...
  • Technical Writer. Average Salary: $98K. ...
  • Software Engineer. Average Salary: $115K. ...
  • Senior Technical Recruiter. Average Salary: $116K. ...
  • Security Engineer. Average Salary: $120K. ...
  • Data Scientist. Average Salary: $120K. ...
  • Art Director. ...
  • Principal Product Manager.
Aug 15, 2022

What is the highest paying hourly job at Amazon? ›

What are the highest paying jobs at Amazon Warehouse?
Job TitleAnnual SalaryHourly Wage
Warehouse Team Member$39,500$18.99
Warehouse Worker 2Nd Shift$38,512$18.52
Package Handler$37,000$17.79
Warehouse Sorter$37,000$17.79
6 more rows

Do Amazon workers get paid a lot? ›

Average Amazon.com Warehouse Worker hourly pay in the United States is approximately $15.06, which meets the national average.

How much PTO do you get at Amazon per week? ›

If you're a new hourly employee, you'll earn between 2.5-5 days of vacation depending on whether you're a part-time, reduced-time or full time employee.

What happens to my PTO if I quit Amazon? ›

In some states, workers forfeit their unused paid time off (PTO) when they separate from the company. In other states, including California, employers must pay out any unused vacation time immediately upon termination.

How many weeks of vacation does Amazon give? ›

Amazon Vacation & Paid Time Off

Amazon.com's salaried employees earn two weeks of vacation time in their first year of employment and three weeks of vacation in their second year. Hourly employees earn 40 hours of vacation time in their first year of employment and 80 hours in their second year.

What is a Level 5 position at Amazon? ›

Amazon equates years of experience with each level as follows: Level 4: 1-3 Years of Experience. Level 5: 3-10 Years of Experience. Level 6: 8-10+ Years of Experience.

What does L7 mean in Amazon? ›

In term of job title, Level 7 manager has "Sr. Manager" in their job titles, and level 7 individual contributor has the word "principal" in their job titles (e.g. Principal Product Manager, Principal Software Development Manager, etc.)

What is a Level 1 Amazon employee? ›

Levels 1, 2 and 3 are primarily for support staff, FC workers and other similar roles (several tens of thousands). Fresh graduates join at Level-4, while MBAs join at Level-6 or 5. The organization is very flat, relative to other companies of this size.

Is Amazon 401k worth it? ›

Conclusion. Overall, Amazon's 401k is a great way for employees to save for retirement with generous employer matching and overall fees among the lowest in the industry. With its vast selection of investments and broad array of options, it provides an excellent opportunity to start or boost your retirement savings.

How often does Amazon split? ›

Stock split history for Amazon (AMZN)

Amazon stock (symbol: AMZN) underwent a total of 4 stock splits. The most recent stock split occured on June 6th, 2022. One AMZN share bought prior to June 2nd, 1998 would equal to 240 AMZN shares today.

How much stock does Amazon give its employees? ›

You receive 100 RSUs set for distribution over four years (25 shares each year). Each share is worth $100, so the total value is roughly $10,000. After the first year, you have 25 vested shares, then 25 more shares the next year, and so on.

How much does a L6 make at Amazon? ›

L6 SDM
Company Location | DateLevel Name TagTotal Comp (USD) Base | Stock (yr) | Bonus
Amazon Washington, DC | 6 days agoL6 SDM Full Stack$343,000 185K | 158K | N/A
Amazon Seattle, WA | 06/08/2023L6 SDM Full Stack$360,933 195.3K | 165.6K | N/A
Amazon Bellevue, WA | 06/06/2023L6 SDM Data$305,000 175K | 130K | N/A
9 more rows

How much does L7 get paid at Amazon? ›

Employees at Amazon as Senior Sdm L7 earn an average of $462k, mostly ranging from $470k per year to $603k per year based on 3 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $600k per year.

What is Amazon base pay Tier 1? ›

Average Amazon.com Tier 1 Agent hourly pay in the United States is approximately $17.74, which meets the national average.

What is a L5 job at Amazon? ›

SDE II (L5): This is also a software engineer role, but more senior generally ranging from three to ten years of industry experience. You will be responsible for larger components, sets of features or mid-tier applications. This level still works closely with design and product to strategize forward.

How much does Amazon pay L5 DS? ›

Amazon Data Scientist Salaries
Level NameTotalBase
DS I L4$179K$136K
DS II L5$223K$167K
DS III L6$322K$203K
Principal DS L7$589K$235K

How much does a Level 5 manager at Amazon make? ›

Amazon Area Manager Salaries
Level NameTotalBase
L4$71K$62K
L5$92K$74K
L6$ --$ --
L7$ --$ --

How much do L6 managers make at Amazon? ›

Total Pay Estimate & Range

The estimated total pay for a L6 Operations Manager at Amazon is $225,106 per year.

Is L5 a manager at Amazon? ›

Within that job family there are different titles as follows: Operations Manager 1 = Area Manager (L5). This is the front-line manager, usually manages a shift for an area in the operation, i.e. first shift picking, second shift sortation, third shift shipping, etc.

How much does a Level 5 make at Amazon? ›

Amazon Salary FAQs

The average salary for a L5 Area Manager is $72,870 per year in United States, which is 56% lower than the average Amazon salary of $165,870 per year for this job.

What is the average L5 salary at Amazon? ›

💰 $234k - average Amazon Solutions Architect (L5) salary [updated 2023] | Candor.

Does Amazon pay their employees well? ›

How much does an Amazon Employee make? As of Jun 9, 2023, the average annual pay for an Amazon Employee in the United States is $95,628 a year.

What is the Amazon compensation adjustment for 2023? ›

Amazon pays its corporate employees a large chunk of their annual salaries in restricted stock units, and a prolonged slump in the company's shares is causing pay for 2023 to be between 15% and 50% lower than the projected targets Amazon gave to employees, some of the people said.

How much does a Tier 3 make at Amazon? ›

The estimated total pay for a Tier III Process Assistant at Amazon is $28 per hour. This number represents the median, which is the midpoint of the ranges from our proprietary Total Pay Estimate model and based on salaries collected from our users.

What does level 4 mean at Amazon? ›

Amazon equates years of experience with each level as follows: Level 4: 1-3 Years of Experience. Level 5: 3-10 Years of Experience. Level 6: 8-10+ Years of Experience.

How much does Amazon pay Level 3? ›

As of Jun 12, 2023, the average hourly pay for an Amazon L3 in the United States is $58.23 an hour. While ZipRecruiter is seeing hourly wages as high as $95.43 and as low as $12.26, the majority of Amazon L3 wages currently range between $47.60 (25th percentile) to $65.87 (75th percentile) across the United States.

How much does an L6 make at Amazon? ›

L6 SDM
Company Location | DateLevel Name TagTotal Comp (USD) Base | Stock (yr) | Bonus
Amazon Washington, DC | 6 days agoL6 SDM Full Stack$343,000 185K | 158K | N/A
Amazon Seattle, WA | 06/08/2023L6 SDM Full Stack$360,933 195.3K | 165.6K | N/A
Amazon Bellevue, WA | 06/06/2023L6 SDM Data$305,000 175K | 130K | N/A
9 more rows

How much do L5 managers make? ›

Amazon L5 Operations Manager Salary | $81K-$200K+ | Levels.

Why does Amazon pay employees to quit? ›

Amazon instituted the program—known inside the company as Pay to Quit or simply The Offer—in 2014 to help the company quickly trim the size of its workforce, which expands significantly during the holiday season to keep up with a flood of online shopping.

What perks do Amazon employees get? ›

In addition to fair pay, employees have opportunities to own Amazon stock, participate in 401(k) plans with company match, and enroll in paid life and accident insurance. Financial counseling and estate planning services are also available, plus paid short-term and long-term disability if needed.

Who is high paid staff at Amazon? ›

Highest Paying Jobs At Amazon

Some of the job titles with high salaries at Amazon are information technology project manager, solutions architect, scientist, and data engineer. A typical information technology project manager salary at Amazon is $147,856 per year.

Do you get a raise at Amazon every year? ›

There are raises very frequently and no matter how long you work for them you will get a pay raise which is great.

Is Amazon laying off employees 2023? ›

The layoffs are part of the 9,000 employees announced in March. Including the 18,000-person layoffs announced in January, this brings the total to 27,000 job cuts or 8% of Amazon's corporate workforce this year.

How much is Amazon anniversary bonus? ›

In lieu of stock, Amazon will pay a cash bonus of $1,500 at five years, and $3,000 at each subsequent five-year employment anniversary.

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