Pros: Reasonable work/life balance. The company is trying to become cooler.

Cons: Fairly slow-moving, very large company with some bureaucracy.

Pros: Generally speaking, the work environment is very flexible, as long as you're producing quality work. The compensation was reasonable, but it varies widely based on what group you're in and what projects you're working on. Newer projects obviously get priority when it comes to budget, as well as the workload.

Cons: As said in another review of Cisco that I read, it is very easy to slowly get sucked in and end up working 14-hour days. Generally speaking, you will be rewarded based on what you put into it. So, if you choose to put up boundaries and stick to a 40-hour week, you'll be comfy and cozy. If you choose to put in 60-80 hour weeks, you are likely to be elevated in the long term (provided you are not in a group that is approaching "sustaining-mode" where there is very little new development). If you are lucky enough to get into the "in-crowd" and you are a hard worker that puts out quality product, you are set for life. Cisco has a very elite group of people that jump ship every few years, create a new start-up (i.e., ensime, nuovo, andiamo), work their tails off, get purchased by Cisco making tons of money, and repeat. But getting into that group is extremely difficult even if you are good at what you do. There is a bit of classism in the Cisco HW department.

Pros: Allows you to select Macs as your computer to use. Good bonuses and salary. Competitive benefits. Nice facilities to work in.

Cons: Upper management is destroying the company by having no clue where they are going or what business they are in. Cisco's future is unfortunately to become like HP, where engineering is nearly absent and the products are very sub-par.