Let's talk a bit about how to progress at Cisco until they fire you :) Especially in the light of a looming post-covid inflation this is important.
When do managers usually get budget for "focal salary changes"?
I have heard that this would be twice per year? Are grade 8s also eligible for RSUs? What was your strategy to negotiate a better salary?
11 replies (most recent on top)
Silly rabbits, the only way you reach director level in engineering, is if you are great at PowerPoint.
G13 Director
G14 Sr Director
G89 Principal Eng/Arch
G90 Distinguished Eng
Just get out ASAP. Cisco is a career ki---r with career sabotaging management.
You can call BS on me that I didn’t double my salary all you want. That doesn’t change the fact that it actually happened and that I probably make more money than you do right now. My pay checks don’t lie.
My advice is still the same. Get the heck out of Cisco if you want to make more money. Cisco is not a growth company, they are a dying company with limited upside for people early in career. If you don’t have high-mid 6 figures of RSUs, what’s keeping you there?
If you are comfortable collecting a check without doing anything and having the possibility of being laid off every quarter looming over your head, be my guest, I just hope you have an ant-depressant prescription because you’ll need it at some point.
Just leave. I got laid off in 2018. Today I’m making 3x what fiasco systems was paying me. I was a G8. They gave me RSU and raise. Next quarter they gave me LR. Unless you’rea crony you ain’t going anywhere in Cisco.
@OP+1bljDIsQ apparently you didn't keep up when they changed to once a year focal well over a year ago. Also, the other one thinking you would come back as a GR12 is dreaming. I have never seen someone come back as that without it being a very high end architect or Sr manager.
Directors, PE’s etc are grade 13
BS. I was a G8 when I was LR'd in '16. No one was offering similar work at TWICE that total compensation. At best, I found a new role for about 5% more with a $5K signing bonus. I've had another $15K raise since then.
No "early in career" person is going to leave Cisco and find a G10 or G11 equivalent role as those grades are more for middle or late career. And who's to say these new employers are offering RSU's to early in career staff?
You say you fought hard for G9 promotion, but most Cisco BU's use even numbers, not odd, until G10. Yes, there are G9's out there, but usually it's a G8 -> G10 promotion, not 8 -> 9 -> 10.
Interns are G4.
College hire & early in career are G6
Mid career & late career/non-management are G8/9
Team leads & Architects are G10, as well as managers.
Sr managers, Directors, Sr Directors, VP, SVP and ELT all go up from there, but I've never heard anyone share what grade level maps to what title.
Salary increase? RSUs? HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!
Lol
My advice would be to leave Cisco if money and raises are important to you. I left Cisco as G8 and doubled my total comp.
If you want to stay at Cisco and you are early in career without any RSUs, what is exactly keeping you at Cisco? You could easily double your total comp if you leave.
Otherwise, you can fight really hard and compete against your co-workers for a raise of about 5-10% if you get promoted.
If you leave Cisco, you could get a G10 or G11 equivalent elsewhere and then come back in 3 years after your RSUs vest at your new job and you would be G12 with significantly higher comp and better experience.
Source: fought hard for G9 promotion and didn’t get it because of Covid and left for better position elsewhere with better pay and high six figures of RSUs.