Thread regarding Cisco Systems Inc. layoffs

this is a good thread

Hello all - I am the OP - thank you all for taking time to respond.

Each responside was ufeful and it's very much appreciated.

You said you can get by on about 70% of what you make. That's great. Bank the 30%, grow yourself a big pile of FU money. You can then stop stressing about job security. If you like your job, stay knowing you can leave on your own terms. Don't stress about what you cannot control. Keep up your skills, build your own parachute.

It's statistically unusual at Cisco to have two managers LRed in succession. I think you are comparing worst case and a little bad luck to something unknown. I would stick Cisco a bit longer. It's good but now is a tough patch. Most big corporates do layoffs.

Take assessments to explore what you really click with. Build your project management skills and ask people (outside Cisco) what they do and why the like it. Be forward thinking in building your skills, watch industry trends. I personally suggest applying for new roles outside Cisco. I’ve worked at Cisco a long time and the atmosphere has always had an unhealthy anxiety filled environment. I’ve worked at Apple, Adobe, Oracle, Symantec, EA, Stanford, etc. and while every company has stress, none compared to Cisco. I attribute it to the decades long constant threat of layoffs. Stay positive and proactive and grow with a new company. Best to you!

whatever your stress level is. it will be higher if you are unemployed,

Hi @OP+17l6w7X8, I get you.

Since your background is in economics and computer science, you are young, thankfully not greedy, may I recommend looking into areas of financial algorithms and automatic trading?

A part of the above is the upcoming areas of application of quantum machine learning in areas of finance. I was talking to a recruiter from IBM for a position based out of NY where I am at, and the offered package was north of $200K per year. It did not work out for me as even though I have some ML in my background, my quantum area of technical knowledge is zero.

I am not sure if this is an area that interests you. If it does, given you have economics in your background , then perhaps have a look.

I know some people (very few admittedly) at Cisco is looking at quantum technologies as I have been at webinars and couple of coding sessions. I did not understand a lot but if you are interested but lack the knowledge and wish to start out, then perhaps reaching across one of those people may help. They may be able to show a path forward. This is an upcoming hype where everyone has started to pour dollars in , except for Cisco who appears to wait forever again like they did with cloud and missed the boat.

You are still young, have a lot to live for. Don't get stressed and lose your days of glory. Get started, focus, cut down on alcohol and nicotine if you smoke - both adds to mental health problems.

Best wishes. God bless.

Hi I have worked in the industry 30+ years and was long time Cisco. Have been very fortunate. It was very challenging but I somehow toughed it out.

Stress was always a big part of that IT road. My vote it is something that can't be escaped. No matter what job. I stopped running from it long ago and embraced it. I can't hide from reality, so have to deal with it. Watch the Dave Goggins podcast on Joe Rogan.

I do see a great physician routinely who helped tremendously with getting dialed into the right combination of meds to keep me heathly.

The other componets are diet, exercise, and rest. Recovery rest is tough to find time for but key.

Read the Dave Goggins book "Can't Hurt Me". It was a New York Times best seller. It is not for everyone; overall it details how to toughen your mind up so that you can work through the toughest of times.

Best of luck.

What is the source of that stress? There is going to be a competitive angle in pretty much any job you find in high-tech / IT. And there is no such thing as guaranteed job security anymore in any company. Cisco is peculiar in the sense that it's in a make-or-break phase, probably much like Nortel and Kodak experienced. Cisco folks are laid off arbitrarily without much consideration for their talent, and that's a real shame. If that's creating too much stress, don't sweat it and look elsewhere. You have good academic qualifications and will find another job. There's no IT job worth ruining your health. The key is to find something you really enjoy doing, ideally in an area that's looking for your skillset. When you spend your day doing something you really like, there stress level goes down dramatically and turns into a self-challenge to do better.