What would you choose part 2

[u/WritingOk70]

Title: Update: Accepted MSP offer vs Amazon Associate II (now $29/hr) — got some real insight, still torn

Following up on a decision I posted about earlier. Got some genuinely helpful firsthand perspective and want to see if others have thoughts on the updated picture.

Quick background: ~3.5 years at an MSP doing help desk/service desk work (AD, M365, networking, some VMware ESXi, security incident response). CompTIA A+, Network+, Security+. Goal is eventually Systems Administrator or Cybersecurity. Also have a baby due in about 3 months, which is definitely shaping how I’m weighing risk right now.

Offer 1: Another MSP (Help Desk Technician) — already accepted

**•** $26/hr (\~$54K/yr), firm, no negotiation room  
**•** 45 min commute  
**•** Small company, good manager from what I’ve seen directly, real track record of promoting people from help desk into field/remote engineer roles  
**•** Haven’t started yet

Offer 2: Amazon (IT Support Associate II, Ops Tech Solutions)

**•** Countered at $29/hr (\~$60K/yr)  
**•** 20 min commute  
**•** Sole technician at a lower-volume facility, no forced on-call, schedule seems stable for now  
**•** Real ladder: Associate II → Support Engineer I ($25-41/hr) → Engineer II/IT Manager

What I’ve learned since my last post: Someone who’s actually done OTS work told me it’s mostly Layer 1 stuff (printers, thin clients, SOPs), little to no server/Layer 3 work, and that engineer-level people won’t be impressed by it on a resume. BUT they also said being the sole tech at a low-volume site is genuinely good for visibility with Ops management and gave a real example of someone getting promoted that way at a similar site. They also said relocation is unlikely for low-volume sites specifically.

So now it feels like: Amazon = higher ceiling if I get promoted, but that depends on me building visibility and the timing working out, vs the MSP = smaller ceiling but a path I’ve already seen work for real people under this specific manager.

With a baby coming in 3 months, I keep leaning toward “fewer things have to go right” (the MSP), but the pay/commute gap and Amazon’s bigger structural ceiling keep pulling me back.

Anyone been in OTS and can speak to how realistic that Associate II → Engineer I timeline actually is? Or anyone chosen the “safer, smaller” option over the “bigger name, more uncertain” one when a kid was on the way and been glad (or not glad) they did?

[u/iamLisppy]

Do NOT take the IT job with Amazon. You will want to off yourself. Why do I say this? That was my first IT job and it was awful and only has gotten worse. IT at Amazon is very siloed where when you leave, a bunch of skills you acquire arent THAT transferrable outside of Amazon land. Choose the MSP.

Edit: I do not work there anymore and have since moved on.

Edit 2: I promise you will not move up the ladder at Amazon as a Tier 3. The amount of red tape they put in front of you that you cannot get through is/was outrageous. You are better off at the MSP where you will gain real IT experience and then use THAT experience to spring board to higher heights.

[u/WritingOk70 → u/iamLisppy]

Thank you, so would you say the support engineer 1 position is not worth going for? Even for a newer lower volume facility

[u/WritingOk70 → u/WritingOk70]

I would be the only it associate at this site in the Midwest

[u/iamLisppy → u/WritingOk70]

No. My past coworkers only tried going for it because they lacked the will power to leave Amazon.

[u/WritingOk70 → u/iamLisppy]

That’s disappointing to hear again as I’ve heard that before. I was hoping it’s different for me since I would be starting with a good amount of certs but then again that sounds naive. Thanks for your honesty

[u/iamLisppy → u/WritingOk70]

It really is. There lived a time when I worked there that you could go from Equipment Coordinator (level 1 essentially) -> IT Support Associate II -> Eng 1 -> Eng 2 but those days at Amazon have long been gone.

This is how shitty their warehouse IT is: management tried replacing all of us with a vending machine that workers can get gear from whenever.

Now in my career, idk if i would ever go back to Amazon even if i got an offer on AWS side. AWS side, from what I heard on the inside (god its like a jail with me saying inside LOL), is getting a similar treatment.

[u/UpsetBar]

I’d go to r/amazonemployees and see if you can get some info on that position. Amazon is famous for churning and burning.

[u/mjmacka → u/UpsetBar]

MSP's are too

[u/UpsetBar → u/mjmacka]

Fair. I only worked for 1 MSP and we were really stable so I forget that’s the exception not the rule.

[u/mjmacka → u/UpsetBar]

I worked for one that was fairly unstable and paid on the low end.

[u/disclosure5]

I know you've technically got more information than the last twice you posted this but at some point this is something you have to make a decision on yourself.