Amazon has proven to be no exception, as their commitment to retaining and training their workforce shows, including specialized technical programs for veterans and spouses reentering civilian life. These paid training initiatives include AWS re/Start, Amazon Technical Apprenticeships, Career Choice, and Amazon Technical Academy.

For Erica Bozeman, the impact of participating in the Amazon Technical Apprenticeship program was almost instantaneous.

As a single mom to four boys, Erica was considering whether to reenlist in the Army before learning about the program. With a few technical certification classes under her belt and a recently polished resume, Erica filled out the application. Within weeks, Erica had begun her Department of Labor-certified data center technician apprenticeship program with Amazon. Shortly thereafter, she found herself in a new data technician job that has put her on the path to achieving her goals, while providing ample opportunity to spend time with her children.

“I just wanted to spend more time with my kids and to be able to have home and work balance. Amazon provided that to me.”

And she’s not alone.

When Melfi Perez left the Air Force, she was certain of two things: She wanted to complete her undergraduate degree, and she had a passion for technology. Naturally, she combined the two as she set out to earn her degree in Information Technology from Montclair State University.

And then, as luck would have it, an Amazon recruiter seeking veterans and military spouses reached out about the Amazon Technical Apprenticeship program. Melfi found herself immediately intrigued.

After completing her technical boot camp in May of 2019, Melfi successfully completed the classroom learning portion of her program. Her next step? An apprenticeship with a recently acquired startup supporting Amazon Alexa’s question and answer service. After completing her apprenticeship, Melfi was converted to a full-time software development engineer in October 2019.

“This program opens the door for people to get paid to learn and figure out if they enjoy a field. And if they do really well, they’ll have a job.”

In addition to skills training, veterans and military spouses working at Amazon have access to fellowships, mentorships, military spouse support, and the Warriors@Amazon affinity group, a community with more than 10,000 former service members, spouses, and allies across the company.

Amazon offers all U.S. regular full-time employees with competitive pay and benefits including a starting average wage of $18/hour – more than twice the federal minimum wage – health benefits starting on the first day of the job, up to 20 weeks of paid parental leave for birthing parents and access to company-funded skills training in high-demand areas. With over 35,000 open positions in the U.S., learn more about Amazon career opportunities for military veterans and spouses by visiting Amazon.jobs.

Come build the future with us. Our mission is to be Earth’s most customer-centric company. This is what unites Amazonians across teams and geographies as we are all striving to delight our customers and make their lives easier, one innovative product, service, and idea at a time.

Amazon is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or other legally protected status.

Amazon has a great opportunity for U.S. military veterans and spouses seeking their next career challenge.

After exceeding their plans to hire 25,000 veterans and spouses by 2021, company officials recently announced a stunning pledge to bring on 100,000 vets and spouses by 2024.

The 100,000-pledge includes a goal of hiring 16,000 military spouses, as Amazon seeks to offer veterans and spouses alike ample opportunity to find a career aligned with their interests and skillsets.

Vice President at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Eric Eversole, spoke highly of the company’s goal and commitment to impacting the lives of veterans and their families:

“Amazon recognizes the diverse backgrounds and experiences veterans, and military spouses bring and how they strengthen the workforce. Through their commitment to provide upskilling and employment opportunities in high demand careers, Amazon is equalizing opportunity for veterans and military spouses,” said Eversole.

Amazon currently employs more than 40,000 veterans and military spouses across multiple businesses, including Operations, Sustainability, Alexa, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). All regular full-time employees receive competitive salaries, comprehensive benefits, as well as access to company-funded skills training in high-demand areas. These training initiatives include AWS re/Start, Amazon Technical Apprenticeship Program, Career Choice, and Amazon Technical Academy.

In addition to skills training, veterans and military spouses working at Amazon have access to fellowships, mentorships, military spouse support, and deployment benefits. They also have the Warriors@Amazon affinity group, a community with more than 10,000 former service members, spouses, and allies across the company.

“Amazon is focused on recruiting and developing military talent with programs specifically designed to help veterans transition into roles in the private sector,” said John Quintas, Amazon’s Director of Global Military Affairs. “We value the unique skills and experience that the military community brings — and our new hiring commitment will expand the impact that military members currently have on every single business across the company.

With over 35,000 open positions in the U.S., learn more about Amazon career opportunities for military veterans and spouses by visiting Amazon.jobs.

Come build the future with us. Our mission is to be Earth’s most customer-centric company. This is what unites Amazonians across teams and geographies as we are all striving to delight our customers and make their lives easier, one innovative product, service, and idea at a time.

Amazon is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or other legally protected status.

Amazon is steadfast in its dedication to our nation’s veterans, currently employing over 45,000 military veterans and spouses, and actively recruiting more. In an effort to improve the lives of veterans, Amazon has championed the following programs to address critical challenges facing the military community, with a focus on employment, employee development and caring for veterans in need.

Program BULLSEYE meets the needs of transitioning service members, student veterans, disabled veterans, veterans seeking technical upskilling programs, and military spouses searching for flexible work schedules.

• Amazon Military SkillBridge Program: Partners with the Department of Defense to provide transitioning service members within 180 days of separating, an opportunity for professional training and hands-on industry experience.
• Hiring our Heroes Corporate Fellowship Program: Expands veteran hiring across Amazon’s many business lines, facilitating over 400 SkillBridge opportunities since 2017.
• Hiring Our Heroes Military Spouse Fellowship Program: A 6-week program for military spouses at select military installations and US cities to gain on-the-job training, networking, and firsthand experience in a variety of Amazon roles.
• Diversity Hiring Program: Partners with veteran service organizations dedicated to equity and inclusion and meeting the needs of minority, female, and disabled veterans.
• Amazon Military Pathways Program: Identifies high-potential veterans with strong leadership and operations backgrounds who are ready for challenges to build Amazon’s next generation of General Managers, Directors and VPs.
• Amazon Technical Apprenticeship Program: Helps members of the military community, veterans and their spouses transition to cloud computing and other technical careers across Amazon.
• Military Spouses Hiring and Development: Builds talent pipelines for military spouses, through a dedicated program manager, into every Amazon line of business, launching programs to support their career development.

Program CATAPULT provides Amazon’s military community a world-class customer experience across the employee lifecycle, from onboarding to training and leadership learning, by delivering continued developmental support and encouraging long-term military retention.

• Military Mentorship Program: Connects Amazon’s military community with mentors offering guidance and support to succeed at Amazon.
• Military Career Advancement: Veterans and military spouses at Amazon can receive a tuition reduction at the City University of Seattle for technology and management pathway opportunities.
• Inclusion Training: Partners with the PsychArmor Institute, a veteran non-profit for veterans, whose mission is to bridge the civilian-military gap by educating a nation about military culture via online training.
• Military Manager Toolkit: Consolidates top resources for Amazon veterans, military spouses, as well as non-military coworkers, managers, and HR and Talent Acquisition professionals alike, to help build your careers.

Program HONOR improves the lives of veterans and their families, especially the wounded or ill and injured and their caregivers, by solving some of the community’s toughest challenges, including veteran suicide, mental wellbeing, and homelessness.

• Delivery Service Partner Program: Guiding leaders with an entrepreneurial spirit, including transitioning service members, veterans, and military family members, to own and operate their own package delivery business.
• Warriors@Amazon: Open to all Amazon employees, this group supports recruiting efforts, aids veterans during their transition into Amazon culture, and provides an internal network, mentorship and career development.
• Military Speaker Series: Renowned speakers offer a diversity of opinions and perspectives to inform and educate a global Amazon audience on a broad range of leadership and military topics.
• Goods4Good Program: Provides selected veteran nonprofits with vouchers to choose essential products to match their clients’ needs through a donation portal on top of Amazon’s e-commerce site.

Check out open positions at Amazon and apply today!

Apply Now

Come build the future with us. Our mission is to be Earth’s most customer-centric company. This is what unites Amazonians across teams and geographies as we are all striving to delight our customers and make their lives easier, one innovative product, service, and idea at a time. Amazon is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or other legally protected status.

As John Quintas, Director of Global Military Affairs and 29-year Air Force veteran states: “Veterans bring unique value to every team at Amazon because they understand teamwork, selflessness and have valuable experience leading diverse teams in challenging environments. They jump right into our culture and make an impact. From building training programs that help veterans and military spouses gain in-demand skills, to empowering veteran entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, we’re proud to continue supporting the military community.”

At Amazon Operations, women veterans take on leadership roles including that of Operations Manager. Here’s the Amazon story of Dymon Boeckmann an Operations Manager at a fulfillment center in Las Vegas.

**

I spent seven years as an Officer in the Army. In 2019, I made the decision to leave active duty and enter the civilian world. After four years at West Point and seven years in the Army managing and leading Soldiers in Europe and the U.S., I knew that my civilian career was in management. Management is a very broad term to some, but to me it means planning, organizing and leading. Ultimately, a great manager is someone who can develop and lead a group of people to successfully accomplish a mission. Management cannot be automated, it cannot be faked, it is raw and real, there is nothing like it, and every company requires it. I needed to decide where I wanted to manage. After spending most of my life in one of the largest and most important organizations in the country, Amazon was the first company to come to mind.

A friend, who is a West Point classmate and Area Manager at Amazon, recommended that I apply to Amazon’s Military Pathways program. Soon after my application was received, I was welcomed to the Amazon family by a former Army Officer and comforted by the helpful contacts within the program . This was during period of my life when I was reluctant to change and unsure of how different civilian life would be from the Army. Amazon champions diversity and wants former military, female leaders, and people of various ethnicities and backgrounds to staff their organizations. This was clear to me during my transition to civilian life, and it is still clear to me today. I let out a sigh of relief during my decision to enter into this new company. I felt a sense of comfort, similar to the feeling of being around close family, similar to how I felt in the Army. I wanted to spend my time in an organization which had my best interest at heart, cared about my development and well-being, and was united under one mission. I have been at Amazon for one year and was recently promoted to Senior Operations Manager. I will soon manage over 1,000 associates and I wouldn’t have it any other way. We have our busy months, like other companies, but I am able to enjoy time with my family and explore personal interests when not at work.

Amazon wants to hire managers with past military experience for many reasons. Amazon wants leaders and they want people who led in difficult and unique situations. Managing in a fulfillment center is no different than managing a group of soldiers on base, or in the field. Yes, our associates handle boxes, stow, pack, and load trucks. And although these jobs differ from military work, each associate needs a manager who cares about them and will serve as their leader. Also, each fulfillment center requires a manager who is able to understand the mission of the area and building, in order to deliver for our customers. I look forward to continuing my management career at Amazon, and I’m proud to say I work here and cannot recommend it enough to my former military classmates, friends, and family.

Check out open positions at Amazon and apply today!

Come build the future with us. Our mission is to be Earth’s most customer-centric company. This is what unites Amazonians across teams and geographies as we are all striving to delight our customers and make their lives easier, one innovative product, service, and idea at a time.

Amazon is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or other legally protected status.