Exit Interview: The Life and Death of My Ambitious Career

by Kristi Coulter

But already I understand that at Amazon normal human limits are an embarrassing affliction like IBS or erectile dysfunction, not to be discussed in public.

Frugality17 is so deeply embedded at Amazon—in the sweater-snagging desks, the travel policies that encourage red-eyes and Saturday stay-overs if it means saving a few bucks, the almost total absence of perks other big tech companies provide

You try so hard to be good at things you don’t actually want to do. You never ask yourself if maybe you should just stop doing them.

But as a man, it was not appropriate for you to explain what it is like for women to work here; you simply lack the experience to speak on our behalf.

The problem is that there is no right way to be a woman. In their eyes you will always be a bit too female or not quite female enough, and trying to walk the tightrope will kill you. The silver lining: if you can’t outrun your gender, you might as well live as you please. It may be the freedom of the truly fucked, but I suggest you take it.