As one of the planet’s largest tech companies, Amazon.com (AMZN) -) employs more than 1.5 million people worldwide. Between its e-commerce, web services, entertainment, and other business segments, there’s room for almost any type of talent at “Earth’s most customer-centric company,” which is headquartered in Seattle and has hundreds of offices in countless cities across the United States.
But these days, many job-seekers want something different than the typical office role. The lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic opened the workforce’s eyes to the prospect of working from home. Since then, many have chosen to seek remote work exclusively to be able to spend more time with loved ones, cut commuting time, and save on food and gas.
Related: Target remote jobs: What type of work and how much does it pay?
Some employers embraced this paradigm shift, realizing there was no point in renting out expensive office real estate when all of their computer-based employees could do their jobs just as easily from anywhere with a WiFi connection. Other employers pushed back against the shift, believing remote work had a negative effect on productivity, collaboration, and corporate culture.
So, where does Amazon fall along this spectrum? Do they offer remote jobs? Are they entry-level? What does working from home for the online retail giant look like?
Does Amazon offer work-from-home jobs?
The bulk of Amazon’s corporate and computer-based roles require working in one of the company’s offices. And while certain higher-level roles at Amazon are remote, they are few and far between and tend to be fairly project-specific and require niche qualifications.
During the early stages of the COVID-19 phenomenon, many Amazon workers were allowed to work remotely from home. In February of 2023, however, the company announced that fully remote work would become a thing of the past for its corporate employees. Since then, the company has been fairly stern in its insistence that formerly remote employees return to their offices, at least for the majority of the work week.
That being said, there is one entry-level job at the mega-retailer that is still performed remotely and is open to anyone 18 or older with the right to work in the United States.
Remote Customer Service Associate jobs at Amazon
Customer service associates interact with Amazon’s customers in real time via telephone, chat (online instant messaging), and email. Their jobs are to answer any and all customer questions and respond to all manner of customer concerns. This can include questions about products, payments, the company’s website, or anything else an Amazon user might need help with.
These positions may also help with Amazon’s shipping and logistics arms by communicating with drivers, delivery service partners, and fulfillment centers to help resolve problems. According to Amazon, a customer service associate’s threefold purpose is “to prevent issues, solve queries, and delight our customers.”
Unfortunately, remote customer service associate jobs are popular, and few are usually available at any given time. At the time of this article’s publishing, only one entry-level remote customer service position was available worldwide—a bilingual (English and Dutch) customer service position in the Netherlands with a starting wage of 14 euros per hour.
According to a Reddit post from 2022, these jobs are most often posted in March and October and tend to disappear fast, so monitoring Amazon’s jobs site and applying immediately once a remote customer service job is posted is a must.
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Wages
Starting wages for entry-level remote customer service associates vary geographically with cost of living but typically start around $15 to $17 per hour in most parts of the United States. Individuals in this position typically become eligible for a raise after six months of tenure. Pay continues to increase with experience, and promotions to more senior customer service roles with higher pay and more benefits are not uncommon.
Qualifications
Unlike most work-from-home jobs at tech companies, Amazon’s customer service associate position has very few requisites. To be considered, an individual must be 18 or older, legally able to work in their place of residence, have an internet connection, and be proficient with computers. Communication skills are a plus, but no prior customer service experience is required.
Benefits
Unfortunately, this position doesn’t usually come with typical benefits like employer-sponsored insurance or retirement accounts. Associates do, however, get an employee discount at Amazon and other lifestyle benefits and discounts from other companies via the Amazon Extras program. If promoted to a more specific, senior, or managerial customer service position, however, a former associate may become eligible for additional benefits.
Hours
The hours for this job vary and can be fairly irregular, although they are reportedly made available four weeks in advance so that employees can plan around their work schedule. Overnight, evening, and weekend shifts are common, and most associates work at least 20–30 hours per week.
Other remote jobs at Amazon
At the time of this article’s publication, Amazon’s jobs site listed 65 total jobs worldwide when the filter “remote” was applied — a relatively small number given the company’s total workforce of more than 1.5 million people.
Here are a few examples of the types of remote jobs the company offers:
- Regional Accommodations Consultant: $24.71–$59.52 per hour
- Senior Customer Solutions Manager, Global Healthcare & Life Sciences, Industries: No pay listed (Glassdoor estimates average salary at $167,000 per year)
- Blink-CS NPI Program Manager: $41,400–$104,200 per year
- Ring System Administrator, Ring Community Support: $32,800–$58,600 per year
- Technical Customer Support Manager: No pay listed (Glassdoor estimates average salary at $75,000 per year)
- Security Engineer I, Offensive Security Penetration Testing: No pay listed (Glassdoor estimates average salary at $169,000 per year)
- Principal Customer Solutions Manager, Media & Entertainment: $148,100–$256,000 per year
These jobs run the gamut from customer service to computer, many are for Amazon’s subsidiaries like Blink and Ring, and most have fairly specific qualifications and requirements. To see every available remote and hybrid position, visit Amazon’s job-search portal and filter for “remote.”
