Ahead of the busy holiday season, Amazon has announced it is hiring for 250,000 full-time, part-time and seasonal roles across their "customer fulfillment and transportation operations in the U.S." ...

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with David Markley, a 58-year-old former Amazon employee, based in Seattle. It's been edited for length and clarity. During my seven years at Amazon, I ...