Learning how to negotiate salary at Amazon/ AWS is crucial. Over the last two and a half decades has seen Amazon become one of the largest companies in the world. Along with it’s Retail business the Amazon family includes AWS, Audible, Ring and Twitch Streaming. Like with like any organisation that’s best in class, landing a job at Amazon isn’t easy. You have to go through a rigorous interview process which will probably be the most challenging interview experience you’ll ever have. So, at the end of this intense experience you want to be able to to earn a salary that reflects in the effort that you put in to land an offer. In this article we’re going to run through some important strategies, things to avoid as well as do’s and don’ts when it comes to negotiating the best salary and benefits package at Amazon.
Understanding the Compensation Components of an Amazon Job Offer
Amazon has various components to it’s salary of payment structure and these can vary depending on the level of your job role. Here I will go through the various aspects of the Amazon salary compensation package.
Basic Salary – With Amazon the Basic salary depending on the level that you come in at for example an Amazon level one and Amazon Level 2 to will pay significantly differently to a Level 3. Also within those bands there is a minimum and a maximum threshold before you qualify to the next level. Amazon can be particularly strict when it comes to what level you might make an entry for a particular job. For example If you’re coming in had an Amazon Level 6 salary UK, they would expect a minimum of 8 years experience. This can be quite problematic if you are earning more money in your current role yet have less experience Amazon may still be reluctant to provide you money at the higher end of the salary scale.
Also different parts of the businesses have different thresholds. If you’re working in the warehouse the threshold is a lot lower in comparison to working in or corporate as of February 2022 Amazon have made the announcement that Increasing the base salary from $160,000 threshold to $360,000 doubling the previous salary cap.
Bonus – Amazon also has an employee bonus scheme the amount that you received is performance linked but also depending on the job role can vary from a few thousand pounds to tens of thousands or even £100,000+. So it’s really important when negotiating your your salary package that you you get a clear understanding of what the the bonus will look like for your particular role.
Stock Options – With Amazon you receive restricted stock units. However, usually your ability to access the stock option only happens after approximately 4 years working within the business. This creates an added incentive for employees to stay. More recently however Amazon stocks haven’t been doing particularly great compared to 2020 and 2021 which resulted in an astronomical rise in their prices. Many Amazon employees at the time, did win! However for the time being the amount that you’re actually able to benefit from the stock options at this moment at least in time isn’t as much as it once was. Of course that can all change in a few years time as well.
Benefits – This can vary from country to country however typical benefits include health insurance and a pension scheme.
Amazon Salary Structure With Level
Below I have broken down the Amazon salary structure ranging from Level 1 and Amazon Level 2 salary UK right up to level 14. It’s wise to note that all the higher levels Amazon usually promotes from within so it’s very unlikely that you directly come in to say a level 11 from a company outside of the Amazon family of businesses.
| Level | Estimated Salary Range (GBP) | Estimated Salary Range (USD) |
| L1 | £45,000 – £65,000 | $60,000 – $90,000 |
| L2 | £50,000 – £80,000 | $70,000 – $110,000 |
| L3 | £60,000 – £90,000 | $80,000 – $120,000 |
| L4 | £65,000 – £100,000 | $90,000 – $140,000 |
| L5 | £85,000 – £130,000 | $120,000 – $180,000 |
| L6 | £110,000 – £205,000 | $150,000 – $280,000 |
| L7 | £145,000 – £255,000 | $200,000 – $350,000 |
| L8 | £215,000 – £430,000 | $300,000 – $600,000 |
| L9 | £290,000 – £615,000 | $400,000 – $850,000 |
| L10 | £360,000 – £725,000 | $500,000 – $1,000,000 |
| L11 | £505,000 – £1,090,000 | $700,000 – $1,500,000 |
| L12 | £725,000 – £1,810,000 | $1,000,000 – $2,500,000 |
| L13 | £1,090,000 – £2,895,000 | $1,500,000 – $4,000,000 |
| L14 | £1,450,000 – £7,250,000 | $2,000,000 – $10,000,000 |
You might’ve noticed that the estimated salary range from the lower levels of management to the high levels vary greatly coming in at an Amazon Level 3 salary you have £60,000 to £90000 range where as if you go up to to an Amazon level 10 salary you’re looking at anywhere from between £360,000 to £725,000. The range is huge, so factors such location, the type of job that you’re doing i.e. working in Business Development for AWS or Amazon Music. your salary might at the lower end but will be bumped up buy a very generous performance bonus.
Now the majority of readers reading this blog will likely fit into the Amazon level 4 salary UK or Amazon level 5 salary UK. With a salary range there is a limited amount of scope that Amazon will allow you to to negotiate. Sometimes you might even have to take a salary reduction to come in at level 4 from a previous job role. This is why learning how to negotiate is so important.
Key Steps to Negotiate an Amazon Job Offer
Amazon is known as a unicorn company. It has become one of the world’s largest companies in a relatively short space of time, and that’s an extremely desirable company to work for. Amazon knows this! Therefore assumes that everyone wants to join Amazon; they rarely get a no, when making a job offer.
One advantage that you do have, is when Amazon finally offers you the job, everyone involved has gone through this arduous, long and meticulous hiring process with 6 interviews including the loop. This gives you leverage because out of the hundreds of candidates have applied and 10 or so that were interviewed. You’ve come out the winner. What they don’t want to do is restart the whole process. Therefore, being brave and asking for more money is important. The best way how to negotiate salary at amazon is always to back up your desired salary with evidence, such as:
- How much of a pay drop you’re taking ( if applicable).
- You’re due for a promotion in your current role.
- Talk about the cost of travel to the offices
- You can also factor in the demanding nature of this new job. You work longer hours than expected which you’re happy to do but clearly want to be compensated accordingly.
(note:- if you haven’t yet cleared the final stage loop interviews then why not read our Amazon Interview Question & Answers guide).
Negotiation Mistakes to Avoid During Amazon Salary Negotiation
Naturally there are some things you absolutely need to avoid when it comes to negotiating your salary, this includes any one of the Amazon branded companies whether it’s AWS, Ring, Audible. Sometimes even the most experienced professionals can make the mistakes whether you’re going for an Amazon Level 7 salary UK or Amazon Level 8 salary UK or even as high as an Amazon Level 9 salary negotiation. Avoid the following mistakes:
- Only try to negotiate hard if you’re willing to lose it all.
- Not backing up your reasoning with evidence.
- Not giving a range when negotiating, if you go in with an exact number it you then have less leverage to manoeuvre.
