Get Exclusive Practice for the Amazon Technical Academy Assessments

The Aspiring Minds Computer Adaptive Test (AMCAT) is the first ATA assessment that’s sent shortly after you complete ATA’s online application form.

The AMCAT reasoning test is no ordinary pre-employment test. It consists of unique questions that are not found on common pre-hire tests, making it harder to prepare for.

Here are several quick facts about it:

• Includes 24 multiple-choice questions to be completed in 35 minutes.
• Measures your logical reasoning skills, but no coding experience is required.
• The questions get harder as the test progresses.
• Must be completed in one sitting and you don’t get a second chance to retake it.
• You’re allowed to use scratch paper (highly recommended).
• Passing scores aren’t disclosed to candidates. If you passed the AMCAT on the previous Cohort application attempt, you won’t be required to retake it.

Many test-takers mention that time is the biggest issue on the AMCAT and that they weren’t able to answer all 24 questions within the time limit.

That’s because the questions get much more difficult as you go so it takes longer to analyze them and come up with a correct answer.

Since you can’t know what passing score to be aiming for, your safest bet will be trying to answer as many questions correctly as possible.

The most efficient way to increase your number of correct answers is by practicing beforehand. This enables you to eliminate the element of surprise, gain useful solving tactics, and learn to manage your time effectively so that you perform better under time pressure.

See the following two sample questions, taken from the official Aspiring Minds website, to start to get a feel for the AMCAT:

This assessment is untimed and usually takes two hours to complete. It consists of three sections:

• Number Series
• Matrix Spatial Reasoning
• Calendar Schedule Synchronization

You can use a calculator and pen and paper for each of these sections. Now, let's see examples for the first two:

Amazon’s Work Style Assessment is a personality test that’s given to almost any Amazon applicant today.

It takes about 15 minutes to complete and Its main purpose is to evaluate certain qualities and work styles to see if they fit Amazon’s unique culture.

On this assessment, you’ll see pairs of statements and you’ll be asked to choose which ones appeal to you the most.

Take a look at this sample question, taken from JobTestPrep’s practice pack:

When answering these questions, the most important thing to keep in mind is Amazon’s 16 Leadership Principles.

These principles are core standards that describe the kinds of behavior Amazon values and expects its employees to follow.

So, while preparing for this assessment, try to learn and get a good grasp of the 16 principles. The more you understand them, the easier it will be to pass the Work Style Assessment.

In the preparation pack, you'll get a full Work Style assessment simulation test with answers and explanations to ALL question types. This way you’ll be prepared to pass your assessment and advance to the next step, which is probably the most challenging one for candidates - the ATA Technical Assessment:

The ATA Technical Assessment is the final mandatory assessment test for the August 2022 class (the coding project is optional).

The assessment is designed to measure your knowledge of Java fundamentals and It takes 3 hours to complete, but most test-takers will need about 1.5 hours.

The assessment is proctored via webcam, and periodical snapshots will be taken while you’re inside the test. Note that you won’t be able to log into the assessment unless you have a functional webcam.

For this reason, you should avoid using external sources like other browser tabs or your phone and use only scratch paper and a pen or pencil.

The Technical Assessment includes 31 questions, divided into three sections:

This will usually be a number series. See this sample question from the previous Cohort for example:

The 6th number in the series 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, ... is __________

You’ll have 29 MCQs that assess your theoretical knowledge in Java programming.

Try these two sample questions from the previous Cohort:

This is the “hands-on” coding part of the assessment. You’ll have a coding problem on one side, including the function description, constraints, sample input and output, explanation, etc.

And on the other side, you’ll have the code editor. You’ll need to write the code, compile it, and submit it when you’re ready.

The Technical Assessment is the toughest and probably the most important test in the application process. To pass it, you must have strong Java foundations knowledge as well as some practical experience writing Java code.

The practice pack on this page includes a complete Java Programming Fundamentals prep course, which is ideal for applicants with little or no experience in Java programming.

You’ll learn Java basics and important concepts from scratch, and you’ll practice solving coding questions easily and efficiently.

This is how the code editor looks in the practice course:

The ATA coding project, which was a mandatory step in the previous Cohort has now become optional.

The coding project is based on Prerequisite Course 4, which is available on ATA’s wiki.

Although it’s optional, we recommended to complete the project regardless, and that’s for three reasons:

1. It could give you an edge over other candidates who don’t complete it.
2. It shows the recruiters how serious you are about getting into the ATA program.
3. Successful completion of the project might come in handy in the final acceptance decision even if your assessments scores are lower than other applicants.

To be eligible to apply, you must meet the following requirements:

• Full-time or reduced-time blue badge employee.
• Be employed by Amazon for a minimum of 12 consecutive months or more by the Cohort start date.
• Good performance standing (no negative UPT, no active write-ups, not on an improvement plan).
• U.S. citizen or non-U.S. citizen lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the U.S.
• Must live in the U.S. and be willing to work full-time from one or more Amazon tech hubs.

The Amazon Technical Academy is a nine-month full-time program. Part-time participation is not allowed.

Prerequisites 1 to 3 are optional and you don’t have to go over them to be accepted to the program. If you’d like to complete the optional coding project, you’ll need to take Prerequisite 4, though.

The Amazon ATA is free for Amazon employees.

ATA participants receive a stipend amount at a rate of $21.19/hr for 40hrs/week, which equals $3,692 a month.

The ATA subjects are grouped into teaching units, each lasting several weeks. Also, there’s an assessment at the end of each unit to see if you should continue with the program.

The subjects are:

Unit 1: Introductory-level coding, testing, memory basics, Java collections, design tools. 6 weeks.

Unit 2: Data structures, inheritance, and composition, software design concepts. 5 weeks.

Unit 3: DynamoDB introduction, more data structures, static keyword, and logging. 4 weeks.

Unit 4: How computers operate and run applications, how developers track and optimize them,
querying data with DynamoDB, stacks, and queues. 4 weeks.

Learn & Be Curious: Gain confidence in your ability to learn new technologies. Learn how to solve problems and when to seek help. 4 weeks.

Unit 5: Relational databases, advanced data structures, distributed caches, integration testing, service design. 4 weeks.

Capstone: API design, advanced DynamoDB features, and new Java fundamentals. 10 weeks.