Tech firms have been through a lot over the past year, what with the seemingly endless onslaught of data breaches, security vulnerabilities, hostile takeover attempts, leadership shakeups and more. Yet remarkably, public interest - and a desire to be employed by major tech players - hasn't waned as evident by the 2018 LinkedIn Top Companies report.

The annual list is based on four key pillars: interest in a company, engagement with a company's employees, employee retention and job demand. To avoid a conflict of interest, both LinkedIn and Microsoft are excluded from the list (Microsoft purchased LinkedIn for $26.2 billion in mid-2016).

Topping this year's list is Amazon, the Seattle-based e-commerce giant that recently passed Alphabet to become the world's second most valuable company. Amazon, who is in the process of selecting a location for its second headquarters, is the second-largest private employer in the US with a global headcount of 566,000.

Google parent company Alphabet fell to second place in this year's list (last year, Alphabet finished ahead of Amazon for the top spot) but that's nothing to be ashamed of. As LinkedIn highlights, few companies possess the global reach that Google does. The company controls the online search industry and, along with Facebook, is responsible for a wealth of digital advertising.

Given its influence, it's no surprise that Google received more than a million job applications each year. The company is also well-known for the many amenities and perks it supplies employees which includes free meals and at some locations, indoor fire pits and dog parks.

Facebook may be going through an untimely (as it relates to this list) data collection scandal at the moment but its third-place position on the podium is no surprise. The company operates the largest social network on the planet and has multiple "back-up" platforms in place including WhatsApp and Instagram. Facebook grew its headcount by 47 percent last year, now employing more than 25,000 people, and made changes to its bereavement leave policy in 2017. The company has continually invested in its headquarters and is planning an expansion that'll rival many small towns.

Rounding out LinkedIn's top 10 companies list include Salesforce, Tesla, Apple, Comcast NBCUniversal, The Walt Disney Company, Oracle and Netflix, in that order.