It's utterly exasperating how much emphasis Cisco places on projecting a pristine image to the outside world, while it's a completely different story internally. The facade that is presented to the public is carefully crafted and polished, but once you look on the inside, the reality within the organization is far from picture-perfect. That's how we get a company with so many awards and so few satisfied employees.
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Left Cisco a while back and only people who think Cisco is a good place to work, are people working at Cisco
"If I were an up and coming hardware engineer and able to get into one of the few groups doing some seriously significant chip and board designs I might really like Cisco."
Up and coming hardware engineers are placed on obscure legacy projects. Your skills atrophy rapidly. University hires are forced to lie about their Cisco experience to land external interviews.
Against what do you compare Cisco?
If I were an up and coming hardware engineer and able to get into one of the few groups doing some seriously significant chip and board designs I might really like Cisco. Having been a customer of Cisco I also know how much consolidation there has been in platforms and how much has moved to merchant silicon so I'd be trying to plan an exit strategy (to quote STTNG: "the higher the fewer." It's a tough career path in which to keep moving upward.)
I love working at Cisco, best place I’ve ever been.
What were these other places? Against what do you compare Cisco?
My friend loved Cisco and that is all they could talk about how great they were and how the stock was going to go up. Then they were impacted in the layoff just weeks after celebrating record earnings. I then heard how Cisco and even their close work peers treated my friend. It was impossible for them to find a new job in that environment. It is just beyond words how cold Cisco can be! It is part of the horrible culture everyone blindly goes along with. It is sick!! My friend felt so lied to and betrayed!
Finally, they now see how they were brainwashed by Cisco leadership. In an article today I saw Chuck calls it "communication". No, it is brainwashing and deception!!
I love working at Cisco, best place I’ve ever been. I’m sure I’d feel differently if I was just let go but I also know the company had many opportunities available to stay with the company. If you have the right attitude, flexible with expectations, and willing to try something new, there was room for you
You just described Corporate America. It's not isolated to Cisco.
Divide & Distract
The term is: "Perfume the Pig"
Most of us that work in the tech industry already know how cr-p*y an employer Cisco is. Don't worry.