A few weeks ago I left Cisco to join a FAANG company. I wish the decision to leave Cisco would have been harder; I truly liked being an employee of Cisco.
There are many things to love about Cisco. The culture of caring was top notch. I felt the people I worked for (and with) truly cared about me as a person. Cisco has its hands in just about every technology; even its shaky SaaS plays. That made it a great place to learn new things. The “people deal” was awesome when I first joined the company. Great minds, talent and camaraderie made for fun while strategizing our go to market with customers.
All that being said, Cisco became a constant struggle for me. The more “innovative” products became, the more I realized they were not always ready for prime time. Our customers were asking for simplicity; what was being offered was often too complex, non-existent or taking too long to bring to market. Then there’s the entire Zoom takeover from 2019 through the pandemic; Cisco was definitely sleep at the wheel. I had grown accustom to LR’s, but the last one seemed to really cause disruption. I feel there are more employees planning exit strategies now than ever before.
I will not rule out a return as a “boomerang” employee. For now I must continue to build my skills/experience and hope the best for my friends & peers who remain at Cisco.