Thread regarding Cisco Systems Inc. layoffs

Money is important but long term employability is arguably more important. If someone is spoon feeding you high school class assignments in the form of bug reports or Agile stories you’ll always be replaceable by a kid out of high school. Being a Principal High School Homework Debugger at $250K/yr has lead many careers to an early and rightful death.

As you jump, consider a well managed small company (they are rare but precious) where you have to take on a wide variety of roles and look for projects with midrange timeframes (12-18 months) so you’ll develop depth as well as breadth. A fixed budget also forces a number of useful disciplines. Working sequential projects in the same larger program means learning from your own mistakes. Networking and things layered on top of it are driving increasing demands for scaling and high availability skills so consider those as well.

Finally, make sure the teams you’ll work with both value and execute on continuous learning. I’ll always hire someone who knows nothing but can learn over someone who believes they know everything and perpetually makes the same mistakes.

My promotion gave me 4%. But it also gave me a 10% increase in bonus percentage. Sounds good, right? But they will cut my IPF by 10-15% next year because, of course, I cannot do as well at the new level as the old. So, I might come out about the same.

What’s a high increase in salary - %age. I know a manager and he said 7-10% is promotion level increases in salary.

I had the same experience. Women are not treated well unless they're connected to the "in" crowd. I had one director who favored 3 clueless women and even promoted an lackluster admin to a PM, and another to manager.
They all worked out of KS or Denver.
Anyway, the people of substance didn't get raises or promotions.
It is much worse when your boss is a Muslim man. Just the worst.

I know of a female in our team back before covid hit. She used to wear high heals and tight clothing, sometimes a miniskirt. She got promoted every 2 yrs. OP, maybe you should try that trick.

"On my team i had 7 promotions with raises which increases their bonuses. And 3 with very high raises in salaries. Not to mention very handsome bonuses all around. This past rewards cycle was very generous in my opinon". Right skippy. No information has been give out and won't be for a few more days. I would bet money that NO TEAM has been able to promote 7 people with very high salary increases. I won't include sr leader to director levels since they promoted another group of incompetent manage up types that had no business being promoted.

Sorry, but being a woman you have hr looking out for you more than a male. Any color other than white and middle aged you get better financial treatment. As someone pointed out about this pay parity garbage that just showed up - promotions and bumps to salary, bonus, and stock are just given. You have a chance to push back but better have a reason. Cost of living raises are a union thing so pound sand there. Budgets have been terrible for promos and raises so first and second line managers have little choice in how much they get, like it or not. Stock that they get you can give but there is a minimum based on grade level so that leaves a lot on the table or you have to give a lot to less people so you don't lose it. That being said, the software quality is terrible and programmers are a dime a dozen and over paid at that. If you haven't been around 5+ years who cares. Leave. Ultimately the job market and pay that's out there will crash. If you are a young, lightweight then I'm guessing you haven't heard about the dotcom bubble and saw this exact scenario play out as far as the availability of jobs and $. Did I say dime a dozen anywhere?

Well, to be honest, I don’t know if she had a real issue or not. But I do know that I’ve not had any raise in exactly 5 years now, and I’m a top performer. And no promotion. This is not an uncommon experience in Cisco. I also know that 95% of people believe they are underpaid and/or insufficiently rewarded. Some/many of them may have a point, who knows?
That’s why it’s unwise to start a war between the genders or races based on how they feel about their salary.

@4xnf+1cRtBDaJ "Isn't there a "special budget" for her since there are very few women in engineering at Cisco?"

• > there is a pay parity review committee that goes through list of "minorities" (not a fan of that word); they have the authority to grant raises but the process is opaque though. Who gets a raise and why they do is not up for debate, it happens automatically in the system. As a manager/director you are simply getting a courtesy notification. I suppose things didn't play out this way for the OP which is unfortunate.

@3qlm+1cRtBDaJ but OP is a woman. Isn't there a "special budget" for her since there are very few women in engineering at Cisco? What happened to D&I that Cisco keeps talking about?

OP, what is your grade level? What grade are your peers? How better than them do you perform? What do you bring on the table that justifies that promotion you haven't received yet? I have promoted women several times. It doesn't matter to me if you're a woman or a man. If you deserve a promo, I'll make sure you get one. Software engineering teams usually tend to be quite uniform in terms of skills: most developers possess a similar skillset. Now and then there's a shining star that solves complex problems more elegantly or faster than the rest of the team but it isn't the norm. As such, you need to differentiate yourself from your peers to get that promotion. Just because you have a long tenure does not mean you are in line for an automatic promo.

"It's a big club, and you ain’t in it. You and I are not in the big club. And by the way, it's the same big club they use to beat you over the head with all day long when they tell you what to believe."

• George Carlin

I didn't know we had Karens at Cisco. This woman is complaining about not getting a raise while some people are being LR'ed left 'n right. These vegan Prius-driving left-leaning tomboy-type of women are toxic to work with.

7 promos out of how many? And what grades? I’m calling BS on this last post.

On my team i had 7 promotions with raises which increases their bonuses. And 3 with very high raises in salaries. Not to mention very handsome bonuses all around. This past rewards cycle was very generous in my opinon

Having left Cisco after 20+ years as a woman in an engineering role... you get lip service abt promos and raises. Especially if you report through an overseas manager... aka China/India. Then you must wear your boots because the bs gets thick. I have left and though I miss my colleagues I do not miss the bs. Give yourself time to find the right role but when you find it your compensation will be more commensurate with the cost of living and the resentment you previously felt will go away. If you are great at what you do you can do a job search on Cisco time and no one will be the wiser.

Cisco owes me a wage compatible for the work that I do. If they don't pay me what I'm worth, I'll leave for another company that will. Cisco has lost a lot of talent for just that reason. It's sad that I've had to leave Cisco to get a deserved pay raise and sad that Cisco contacts me to see if I'm interested in coming back with a raise and then leaving me stuck where I'm at until I leave again.

I've never received a promotion or pay increase while at Cisco, but I've had two pay increases by leaving and returning.

The hypocritical comments made by hopefully one unhinged individual may explain why the experience for women isn't always ideal at Cisco.

This guy works in some department and I can only imagine what it must be like to work with him. His antipathy is deep seated and appears to be hostile and abusive to the point of being physically dangerous.

This poster could be your wife. Think about that.

Wow some of the comments are so shameful. The I’m a white man over 40 can’t move ahead, being pushed out whoa is me, feel sorry for me” posts permeate this site, yet a woman shows vulnerability and voice her concerns and she has now committed World War 3!

What you’re saying is there is no support, care or concern here for minorities, women, disabled or any other population except for you. Very disgusting.

To All of you vicious and vile woman hating asshats don’t forget you came from a woman, are probably laying up with a woman and have procreated with a woman yet you hate them? The irony.

Be mindful, especially if you have sisters, daughters or cousins that you love and care for , I hope you think about the venom you’ve spewed against this woman when they have these same challenges because women in the workplace don’t just have issues in technology because it’s in all lines of work.

And please when you get the boot, or passes over for a promotion don’t come in here posting about it! We don’t want to hear about it.

Oh look, someone doesn't know what a typo is. lol.

no more exit interviews

You missed the comments. Deleted. Disgusting comments from a deranged employee. Hopefully the company can track him down and remove him.

Having proud to have ran the gauntlet of a near 18 year Cisco career, some advice a valued senior mentor gave years ago in my 30s, now is even more true now in my 50s.

Your current job should only serve the current purpose of providing your cash flow for current family supporting needs now, along with funding your future retirement plan.

Anything else (work politics, social cause support included) should have zero focus on your employment choice now. Can you support your family and save as much as possible for retirement; if you can do those two things, your job meets your needs.

If answer to above is yes; stay.

If answer is no, move on and find it.

He was right. Now post Cisco, I could honestly care less now about current work status (which I spent so much effort maintaining at Cisco), high salary, fitting in at work (had to make sure I was trendy Cisco popular), or future career (because I did save). I work because I want to, and could care less about anything much more than trying to enjoy life.

Point is, what matters now won't matter in a few years, so don't take it too seriously. But yeah if you are putting in the effort and not getting the payout; punt and move on.

This thread is a perfect example of why many women don't want to work at Cisco.

Are you reading the same thread as me? I don’t see gender based attacks here, I see somebody calling BS on lunch-table chatter about pay. Discussion of the issue would be appropriate but the cancel-culture types want to immediately institute a witch hunt and get people fired.

This thread is a perfect example of why many women don't want to work at Cisco. Look at the crude gender based attacks. You don't see the same level of vitriol on other threads regarding wages and lack of promotions. It's just not a good look for the company when an obvious employee and probably a senior leader is behaving in this manner. Shameful.

You're not asking any question here... Just wanted to express how you've been feeling?

Cisco is such a company. Not worth at all. You could've left earlier for your career. Truly talented, skilled, experienced professional will soon leave, of course. Not good for your career. I mean, what can you possibly put anything useful or attractive in your resume about your experience at Cisco?

MODS, clean up on Aisle 13

"Fran has constantly said how they scan for any anomalies." I'm sure they take care of all those anomalies (not). I was told several times my anomaly was going to be corrected.

You reflect Cisco very well by how you handle constructive feedback. Anywho, I'm done with this conversation. Enjoy your miserable life while I'm loving mine.

IMO women in tech are paid considerably lower than male counterparts.

How the he-l would you know, you cretin? You swap pay stubs at lunch? Fran has constantly said how they scan for any anomalies.
In fact the pay thing is a real detriment to hiring early in career women. To boost the relative pay scales, there is a strong incentive to only hire women in high level roles and hire men as college grads (and janitors/gardeners). Hiring women college grads skews the figures in the wrong direction.

Hi sweetie (just joking).
I understand - I really do. I’m in the same boat, although I’m outside the US. The management directly above me understands my value, they really try to throw maximum rewards my way. But the system is screwed.
They are so constrained. I’ve been really due a promotion for about 3-4 years and I’ve not had a salary bump in 5-6 years. I won’t go into details to maintain my anonymity, but people outside Cisco cannot believe the grade I’m at because they know my reputation and accomplishments. I’m not blowing my own trumpet, because I’m doing ok given the assets I’ve accumulated.
But Cisco has a REAL effing problem when it allows good people to age out or jump ship because their systems cannot recognize and reward good people.
Well, they seem to be able to make exceptions for certain people that are well connected or have the correct identity points. But meritocracy is dead in Cisco.

@yyj+1cRtBDaJ Hey, [not very intelligent person] I'm already leaving. Offer in hand. Gone. Done. My remarks are for others that do want to know why people leave. Perhaps it will be helpful to the company in retaining staff in the future. Very few say anything in exit interviews for obvious reasons. This site IS the place to voice issues without fear of blacklisting. If you're such a baby that you can't handle it, don't read it.

I can't stand post like these. The fact the OP takes the time to gripe proves they messed up and stayed at Cisco to long and it's their own fault. When it's your fault no need to complain as you are the cause of your unhappiness. This person does sound like someone who needs to be LRd

Cisco was also committed to being a cloud, security, engineering company... it's called propaganda

@vxk+1cRtBDaJ No one knows who I am mo--n. Go troll elsewhere.

Another comment that should be addressed. I expect push back from this observation, but it is true from what I have personally seen. Cisco talks big about wanting females in tech. However, apart from executives and other senior leaders, IMO women in tech are paid considerably lower than male counterparts. Sure, women in non technical roles seem to do well. Maybe that makes the statistics look better overall. But in the hard tech roles, not so much. I'm sure there will be countless points made about how wrong I am, but I've lived it and my paycheck and grade versus others (who don't work half the hours I do in equivaled roles) proves it. I am not a "feminist" PITA BTW.

This OP sounds like a worthless POS. Come here to complain and nobody will want to hire you whether it's Cisco, Amazon or whoever you claim to be going to. Be a man/woman and just own to fact if you didn't like Cisco you could have left long ago.

Come to palo

I just said I was leaving. That is recognition that Cisco "owes me nothing." Heading out to Amazon. Bye.

Don't complain. Nobody is keeping you there. Get over it. Cisco owes you nothing.