Thread regarding Cisco Systems Inc. layoffs

"PMs are a nickle a dozen at cisco and only a small percentage are worth that nickle."

I disagree with this statement. I was a PM at Cisco and worked with many very good PMs. The problem with PMs at Cisco is that most of Cisco doesn't know how to run a project.....but think they do. I lost count of the amount of Architects/Mgrs/Dirs at Cisco who thought they could manage a project better than a PM......but at the end of the day, they were just a roadblock in the forward progress of a project.

PMs have all the responsibility, but none of the power at Cisco (ie they don't control their resources paychecks/bonuses). And don't get me started about young PMs on large accounts....what a cluster that is.

There is no project management because there is no project at Cisco. What the Cisco staff are calling it a project is not even a project, actually. Almost no Cisco staff has ever experienced managing a real project... I don't think so... because long-tenured hiring managers keep hiring new grads or those candidates who have no solid career experience. Hiring managers themselves don't have any expertise and always hire less experienced people than themselves. Vicious circle...

"He was saying there was nowhere found there that he could use his expertise as a PM"
PMs are a nickle a dozen at cisco and only a small percentage are worth that nickle. There is absolutely no replacement for a good PM on larger accounts. It just so happens that csco doesn't get very many of them. It has been that way for a very long time, at least 20 years.

"I often wonder if and how many people at other US tech firms know what it's really like to work at Cisco despite its brand in the market."

People in the Bay Area are aware of Cisco's culture of incompetence. Other cities have absolutely no idea how dysfunctional Cisco is... give the Marketing org credit they do a great job with our brand

"Eerily quiet, never utter a single word at any meeting."

Maybe somebody can explain why people correlate success in the workplace with how much you speak on useless, uneventful, drivel-ridden team calls.

A healthy organization needs a mix of young and old. That simple. Look at professional sports teams. You need the right amount of veterans and rookies.

The same here at Singapore. I think JP, SG, US are the same situations. It's the largest US tech firm I've ever worked, but turned out it's the lowest, most childish, most immature organization with the lowest morale, with no expertise whatsoever. I've never regretted this bad as joining a new company. I often wonder if and how many people at other US tech firms know what it's really like to work at Cisco despite its brand in the market.

It's because cisco has given up and are just maximizing profit for the upper level failures. They hire 20 or early 30 year olds with minimal real experience knowing that the are diluting the value of the service. Hiring contractors or the low paid/low skilled offshore and h1b types is not what customers want for their money. Total shame. It's only rated the #1 place to work because cisco paid for the title and also because of the low level new hires/h1b dregs. No other reason.

Easy:
Cheaper.
Endless supply/Easy to find.
Less 'set in their ways' and prone to fight changes.

I know a friend of mine who joined the Japan team and resigned just 8 months later. His previous job was a PM at Vxxxxxx Japan, a very "American" service provider.

He was saying there was nowhere found there that he could use his expertise as a PM and those who were handling projects in JP team didn't even know any project methodology. He was saying that the fact was those young ones with no project management were getting promoted, which he felt strange and unreasonable and felt like he was wasting his time there.

I guess it's not for those who have enough professional career and expertise outside.

In America, the new grads are paid just enough to afford an apartment. They don't need to support a family or have a mortgage. Also the health insurance costs are non-existent to the company for new grads.

The new grads leave after 2-3 years due to apartment rent hikes... and a new batch are hired to replace them. There is zero career growth at Cisco for new grads.

Someone hired _you_ when you were in your twenties.