Hi Adam!

For many professionals, landing a job in Big Tech is a top-line career goal. Big Tech pays really well, and just having one of those companies listed on your resume can be a big asset.

For other folks who don't aspire to work in Big Tech, those companies are more of a curiosity. They seem like giant, mysterious machines that constantly create splashy new products while printing gobs of money.

When I began my career, I always imagined a career ladder as a sort of smooth, upward trajectory that would feel more like riding an escalator than climbing a ladder. But the ladder analogy is apt—especially for bigger companies—because there's a lot of work involved to "climb". At Amazon, there's even a missing rung (L9) on their career ladder, making it even harder to climb to the top rungs!

How do the Big Tech companies work on the inside? What's it like to climb a Big Tech career ladder?

To help answer those questions, I wrote a detailed guide to climbing Amazon's career ladder, specifically focused on Software Engineers.

If you're curious what it's like to climb the career ladder at Amazon, check it out!

​A guide to Amazon Software Engineer Career Ladder & Salary Ranges​

You don't have to be a Software Engineer or even aspire to work for a Big Tech company to get a lot of value from this article. It's a peek inside of larger organizations that could help you understand your own career path so far, and give you some ideas that might help you on your own journey.

Have a good week!

Josh