Haven't really been able to get a comprehensive idea about what Cisco is like as an employer. I see quite a lot of people here who work for Cisco, can you rate your TC, work, culture, and balance? I know these threads can get super negative, so even if you hate working there try to be somewhat unbiased. Also, what are some other companies that are on par with Cisco? Is Cisco mostly like FAANG? Is it like Microsoft? Intel? Just want to get a better idea, if you've worked for Cisco in the past please chime in too!
It’s most like Microsoft - country club but lowball TC.. 175k for 1 yoe is solid, most likely those with 5yoe are around 200 (whereas that is entry level at fang). We do uplevel though, work is work, culture is amazing you can work from Vegas if you wanted no such thing as 10-4 hours even which is the perk that counters lower TC
Politics, layoffs, low to non existent raises
Low TC, low to no annual RSU refreshers, low to no raises, always worry about a pay cut or layoff with lots of politics.
+1... Work wise few folks are smart. I would say only 20-30% per group who drives projects. Rest is labour. Very political.... Smart asses are more into politics rather than in product.
Layoffs every year 😂
If you’re starting out, It’s fine for a couple years to get the name on your resume. Then Bail once you have achieved your personal goals,. You’ll lose in the long term if you stay too long. Other places have better compensation for effort.
Which area/group are you interested in? I’m sure different groups have different views. Overall I think the company is a great place to have a career but I’ve read the negative comments so I sometimes think it’s more of a view on the department. My family has benefited a lot from the great health insurance, my 401k with match seems to be above the average compared to what I read out there, my RSUs and espp have grown significantly. If things keep going the way they have I’ll be able to meet my life goals and potentially retire early one day so I can spend time doing what I want. If your goals are to get the highest comp then like others said Cisco will not be the highest on your list. I think they could be in a window that’s close. If your goal is to have a long career, have good benefits (I know my opinion), solid 401k, Espp, potential RSUs, work life balance, then Cisco could be a fit for you.
I beg to differ from most of the posts here. IMHO if you are good in what you do, and that's what you are doing for Cisco, you will get rewarded. TC has become very competitive in last few years. When I moved here from Juniper, I had two other offers from FAANG companies but neither could beat Cisco offer. Especially the cash bonus in the highlight - you're almost guaranteed to get a good sum of money which is a good percentage of your base salary which is already competitive. RSU disbursement has become much more of a norm last couple of years. Work-wise, there are a lot of good work being done here - without it you cannot bring a company 35 years old from $25 a share to $60 in 3 years or so. 82% of the internet traffic of the world passes through Cisco devices today - and it is continuously getting improved with new challenges in cloud and big data analytics thrown in. But choose your grail wisely here - look at market segments that are growing and promising - most of the good work will happen there. DC & Enterprise would be your best bet. Culture, too, has come a long way from earlier heavy politics & lackluster attitudes. Most of the teams today are quite efficient in my experience, and opportunity to grow & learn are abundant. There are slackers everywhere, and they are here too, but I see them getting weeded out more often than not.
Marketing talk. I believed this crap before joining. Most PE's are the ones driving projects. Rest is labor. Way too many incompetent people and Engineering quality sucks
I'm sorry you landed in the wrong team. But do not judge whole org based on that single experience. You can always try moving inside the org - that's another advantage. What I wrote was from my own experiences - Cisco doesn't pay money to write advertisements and this is Blind 😆
I have heard some very bad feedback about the DNA software team within Cisco from a few of my friends who work there. Infact I backed down on my offer because of that. I didn't get a good vibe as well when I interviewed with that team specifically. I think Cisco security is a good group.
I have had quite a bitter experience particularly with my manager. Manager (Director) was very non-technical, a people manager and had all the priorities wrong. Ended up losing several key people on the team. Then initiated an acquisition and the upper mgmt liked the leadership of the acquired company better than the director..... rightly so.... then the director left the team to lead another team.... god save them 😃.... the team is now at the mercy of the new leadership who actually have no idea about the core technology.... Coming back to the question.... Working at Cisco.... you may do cool stuff.... but your manager can ruin everything for the entire team... so not good for people passionate about their work.... if you want to work for the paycheck, join Cisco. good luck!
” but your manager can ruin everything for the entire team... so not good for people passionate about their work “ - Mgr situation isn’t specific to Cisco. This is the case at any company.
Well, I’m talking from first hand experience, IN CISCO.... as the context here is working at Cisco.
I'm in an alpha project here and it's not bad, but I'm still moving to Google next month. TC: 175k Yoe: 1
What BU?
Datacenter