Cisco was the pinnacle. Even after the dot-com bust Cisco was a master at the partner led ecosystem and engineering prowess. Regular engineers would strive to climb the career cert pyramid and get their CCIE. Fellow employees would write white paper sand contribute to RFCs (not the marketing drivel they now pump out)
Now, the Cisco certification landscape is a confusing joke. (Which CCNA should I get?) and Cisco now competes directly with their most valuable partners.
I also miss the Cisco I joined. I joined in 1996 and what a company it was then! Ever since the first LR in 2001, it has been downhill ever since.
Avoid business units that are not directly making money. Some of the BUs that play a supporting role in selling hardware or for making product that are not directly showing revenue will always have less bonuses and will have layoffs. The low level management in these BUs are so out of touch with the market realities and don't encourage any development and growth of employees.
This is why I left 6 years ago one day Cisco I loved became Cisco Systems list and leaderless