Most of you may not agree but Cisco was very good to most of us who worked here for 20+ years - and mind you - I am not talking about Director/VP but just Lv 10 to 12 career. I do not care what others made at higher level and what their qualifications and capabilities - Cisco was good to most of us for last 20+ years. There were excellent opportunities to work for spin outs - if you qualified. I think we should quit blaming Cisco or its management for everything. Ultimately 'employment at will' allows you to do whatever you want but that said you are not in bad place. Granted some islands can be really bad but they are not that many
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At Cisco some Network Engineers are still using command line interfaces and CCNA.
At AWS, would not they require you to know Software Defined Networking.
I know some Cisco Engineers already do know SDN, but how many Cisco Engineers still use the command line interface.
It just doesn't scale.
Cisco can easily prevent you from learning new skills. We have organizations dedicated to legacy systems and management teams focused on PowerPoints. Good luck keeping your skills up to date in that environment... it's actually frowned upon
Cisco is a great company if you are passionate about sales.
@2yqm+1a8kRSsf that’s the thing I hear too often: AWS will ensure your skills are up to date. Fallacy. If you’re too clueless or lazy to figure out it’s in your interest to stay relevant, then another company isn’t the answer. Nothing at Cisco prevents you from actively learning something new and useful. You can’t seriously be thinking everyone at AWS suddenly becomes smart, interesting, curious and skilled just because they joined Bezos’ gig?
If you stay for over 10 years as grades 10-12, you're walking around with a big target on your chest. You will not get a chance to retire with Cisco.
AWS will ensure your skills are current. Employees can easily hide at Cisco with obsolete skills.
At the end of the day, it's true. It's a company like any other, with good and bad. When averaging things out, it's mostly good. It pays reasonably well, work/life balance is good, and there are interesting jobs still. I see so many folks drawn to AWS or the like. But why? Is AWS making the world a better place? Is Bezos a role model? Is your job going to so much better at AWS? How so? You won't get rich at AWS, Google or Azure. It's much too late for that. You think there are no LRs at AWS? They cull the herd by not offering raises to low performers, so they leave on their own. Think of it as a passive LR. I often hear people leave Cisco because they reach a plateau. Nobody is preventing you from learning new things while at Cisco. All things considered, Cisco is not a bad company. It's lost its focus and is searching for a new self, but it isn't treating employees miserably.
I was a contractor at Cisco. I didn't take a vacation for several years and worked the same contract rate the entire time.
I know more than a few contractors who worked the same contract rate their entire tenure. The only way to get a raise as a contractor is to leave and come back. But, that seems to be the case with most companies as a contractor, if you want a raise, you have to start a new contract with a new client.
There was a contractor who started at Cisco 60 days before I did. I was converted to an employee 15 months later and LR'd 2 yrs later. After 15 months away, I came back as a contractor again. He was let go 2 yrs after I rejoined and had been stuck at the same rate the whole time. I'm still a contractor and it doesn't look likely that I'll be converted this time. But I returned because the rate was too good to pass up, and as a contractor, I don't have to put up with all the internal politics. Just keep my head down, my mouth shut, and complete the tasks that I'm assigned so I can keep putting these fat checks in the bank. At my age, it's getting harder to find new gigs, so I'm milking this one for every penny it's worth. I figure my next gig won't pay as well as I negotiated a higher than normal rate because it was supposed to be a short-term gig that would have ended in Nov and I expected to be unemployed until the following Jan or Feb and wanted to make enough money in the 9 months to cover a year, but it's turned into a 36+ month gig that doesn't look to end soon. Lovin' it.
I was a contractor at Cisco. I didn't take a vacation for several years and worked the same contract rate the entire time.
I left Cisco so I could essentially take a two week vacation. I think they would have to pay me a LOT of money to go back there.
I'd argue Cisco has many chapters. Those working for Cisco have vastly different experiences based on the decade.
1996-2007: one of the best companies in the world
2008-2014: relaxing family oriented company
2014-present: highly political corporation focused on cost cutting
I'd like to echo some of the comments about being diligent with your money, especially during your prime working years.
For nearly two decades I was a Cisco employee. I never worked hard, never rocked the boat, kept my head down and simply collected a paycheck. Never tried to keep up with the Joneses, never cared about flashy cars or flashy toys. Managed to get debt free and build a sizable nest egg in that time. Then when my number got called Cisco gave me a very generous severance package as they booted me out the door. My colleagues who were also affected were panicking about job prospects while I decided to take an extended break.
So many people I know making big paydays and they will never be able to break out of their golden handcuffs.
I will NEVER badmouth Cisco. They gave me a nice quality of life relative to the minuscule amount of work I did for them.
It used to be good. Now, at forty get out or they get you out, right?
Poster 7 you are correct. This is what I witness just in Orange County California in the tech circle. How they try to emulate a high flying lifestyle they cannot keep up.
Trying to balance a tech job and owning multiple properties trying to be a landlord and a stake in startup company at the same time.
I know housing in the Bay Area is millionaires only allowed and loaded with those who graduated with hordes of debt and a company that promises a lifetime of income only to not follow through.
45 year old? You didn't graduate into the great recession with college debt. Or look for houses in the Bay Area on a Cisco salary. The millennial Cisco employees might be able to afford a middle class home in 250 years. That's if the millennials can survive the quarterly layoffs
Post number 3 is spot on. As a 45 year old every high paid tech person I’ve worked with has treated it like a license to burn through their income with a blowtorch.
Let’s buy two houses and take out an equity loan against the first home to fund my startup company investments and start my own micro brew business on the side and order every single meal through Uber eats rewards programs. #ImSoAwesomeImSmarterThanYouBro. Who doesn’t drive a $120,000 Tesla X and boast how much money they save driving it .....what a has been you are bro......
Too many wanna be tech bro elitist wannabes. We witnessed the generation before (mostly) run a full career to retirement and if they over spent well they could make it up in their next 15 years of earnings.
The biggest technology threat they had was the companies competitors and products. Now we have to worry about planet Amazon AWS. AmazonShippingGroceryInfotechDogWalkingGrassCuttIngClothingPr-scrip-ionAndReplaceYouWithOverseasWorkers Company.
Hold onto your money a little bit people don’t assume as American workers things only get bigger and brighter and fatter and richer - we may have witnessed the last decades of that and we thought it was normal.
100 years ago one of your immediate ancestors here in the USA was probably beat up in front of the company and not paid for two weeks because he worked a 15.5 hour day and not 16 hours. Seems our idea of work and wages is headed back to those dark ages.
If you change the word "is" to "was" I totally agree. During the last couple of years the shift from running a business to being a woke company has totally turned this around. I left just for that reason. There was no place for me at Cisco as I wasn't in one of the "labeled" groups. Funny how being inclusive and diverse really isn't. While we are at it where is there an AA on Chuck's direct team?
I was there 16+ yrs. Started in 98. I decided to retire after LR and pursue my dream at 47. That was 2014 and I am loving life.
There was a time and a long time that Cisco did well by its employees. No joke!
I ain't hatin' the stock price either after maxxing my ESPP.
Save your money while there; that is the biggest mistake many seem to make. I was there for almost 18 years and left as a G10. Between options, RSUs, and ESPP I had enough to semi-retire in my early 50s. While everyone else was buying expensive cars and houses, I brought in lunch, maxed my 401k and Roths, and invested. The benefit for all those years was pay consistency, especially at the 2008 market crash. Pay off your debt and get your retirement squared away. Then if you are LR'd you can work the jobs you want to but don't absolutely have to. The biggest benefit has been realizing that I can move on to other jobs if need be. Job freedom is still out there in 2021.
It is not a joke. It is 23 years of experience. Some bad but mostly good
Is this a joke?