u/Haunting-Screen-3789

Hey everyone,

I recently accepted an offer to join Amazon as an SDE 1 and will be starting soon. I want to hit the ground running and set myself up for a successful transition.
To any current or former Amazonians, I would appreciate your tactical, point-by-point advice on the following areas:

1. Pre-joining Preparation
   Technical foundations: Beyond basic coding, what specific areas (e.g., advanced multi-threading, specific databases, or system design concepts) are most valuable to review?

Tooling: I know internal tools can only be learned on the job, but are there open-source equivalents or concepts I should familiarize myself with now?

Best resources: Are there specific books, blogs, or white papers that align closely with Amazon’s engineering culture?

2. The Absolute "DOs" (First 90 Days)
   Onboarding: What does an effective onboarding phase look like, and how fast should an SDE 1 aim to deliver their first small change?

Codebase familiarity: What is the best strategy to map out and understand a massive, unfamiliar team codebase efficiently?

Manager & Mentor alignment: How frequently should I sync with my manager/onboarding buddy, and what questions should I ask to ensure I am on the right track?

Impact tracking: What is the best framework for documenting daily/weekly contributions for future performance reviews?

3. The "DON'Ts" (Common Traps)
   Getting stuck: What is the rule of thumb for how long an SDE 1 should try to debug an issue independently before asking for help?

Communication: What are the common communication mistakes new hires make when interacting with product managers or adjacent engineering teams?

Scope creep: How do you avoid the trap of taking on too many tasks before mastering the team's core domain?

I want to focus entirely on building great engineering habits from day one. Any structured frameworks or bullet-point advice you can share would be incredibly helpful.

Thanks!

I am a 22yo facing a major dental dilemma and need some perspective from any orthodontists, dentists, or patients who have gone through complex bite corrections here. I also desperately need recommendations for a good clinic in the Whitefield area.
My Case:
• Severe deep bite (upper teeth completely overlap the lower ones).
• Two missing permanent lower incisors (congenitally missing since childhood).
• One retained milk canine tooth.
I’ve consulted a few doctors and have been handed two completely opposite, aggressive treatment plans that have left me totally stuck:
Approach 1 (The Extraction/Close-the-Gap Plan):
• Suggested by a highly qualified doctor (All India Rank 3, MDS from a top govt institute).
• The Plan: Extract the milk canine + extract one upper premolar from each side. Use the space to pull the top teeth back and upward to fix the deep bite. No implants on the lower jaw; just shrink everything to close the gaps.
• My Concern: I’m terrified this will shrink my arches too much, flatten my upper lip, and make my lower jaw look even smaller or receded.
Approach 2 (The Rebuild/Implant Plan):
• Suggested independently by two different senior dentists (10–15+ years experience).
• The Plan: Use Damon braces + TADs (temporary mini-screws in the bone) to push the front teeth up into the bone to open the bite. Instead of closing gaps, they want to move teeth to their natural positions and open up space where my lower incisors are missing.
• The Goal: Put two dental implants in the lower jaw at the end of braces to restore natural anatomy.
• My Concern: This sounds structurally safer for my face shape, but it is a massive multi-year financial investment.
What I need help with:

1. Which approach is clinically and aesthetically safer long-term? Has anyone chosen space closure over implants (or vice versa) for a deep bite, and how did it affect your facial profile?
2. Clinic Recommendations in Whitefield: I want to go with the approach that is best for my face, but I am on a budget. Can anyone recommend a highly experienced Orthodontist (10+ years exp) in or near Whitefield who does advanced work (Damon, TADs) but is known for honest, transparent pricing and offers flexible EMI/monthly installment options? I want to avoid highly commercialized corporate chains that overcharge.
   Appreciate any insights or doctor leads you can share. Thank you so much!

Hey folks,
Planning my first solo trip from Bangalore to Mulki for a 3-day surfing course in mid-May, and I’ve stretched my budget to around ₹10k total.
I’m a complete beginner (and not a super confident swimmer), so this is mainly about trying surfing + doing my first solo trip.
Rough plan/budget in my head:
Surf course (3 days): ₹5k–₹7k

Stay (budget/hostel): ₹1.5k–₹3k (for 2 nights?)

Travel (bus/train from Bangalore): ₹1.5k–₹2k round trip

Food + misc: ₹1k–₹2k

Seems like it might just fit into ₹10k, but cutting it close.
Things I’m unsure about:
Is mid-May a good time, or will heat + pre-monsoon waves make it tough for beginners?

Are there packages (course + stay) that are actually worth it for this budget?

Any budget-friendly surf schools / hostels with a good solo traveler vibe?

Best way to travel overnight bus vs train?

For a first solo trip, is this a good idea or too ambitious?

Also slightly nervous about going solo, but don’t want to overthink and back out.
Would love to hear from anyone who’s done Mulki on a budget or learned surfing there, especially around May.
Thanks in advance 🙌

This has been messing with my head a bit, so posting here.

I recently got into Amazon for an SDE role. The weird part is — the interview questions were not easy. They were genuinely hard, and I did manage to solve them during the interviews.

But even after that… it still doesn’t feel like it came from “hard work” in the way people usually describe.

I didn’t have a crazy grind phase. No 500+ LeetCode streak, no all-nighters, no consistent daily routine. In fact, I’ve been pretty inconsistent overall, and even now I sometimes struggle with problems people consider easy.

So now I’m stuck in this odd headspace:

The questions were hard

I solved them

I cleared the interviews

…but it still feels like I just got lucky.

Maybe the exact topics I happened to know showed up. Maybe things just clicked that day. Maybe the interviewers were more lenient. I don’t know.

And when I see people grinding way harder than me and still not getting through, it makes it feel even more undeserved.

It’s like logically I know I performed well, but emotionally it feels like a fluke.

Has anyone else experienced this kind of “I did it, but I don’t believe I deserved it” feeling?

Does it settle down once you actually start working?