Pros: - Name recognition - An inside look at some big companies' work (I hope not all of them are like this) - An inside look at how NOT to manage a team - Experience working with a global team (not recommended unless you're a masochist) - Increased ability to detect insincere people - Ability to practice inherent lawyer skills every engineer never knew they had - Increased tolerance to abuse (I decided no more for me; I did not go to school so I could work 24x7) - Ability to test your level of patience with being uncreative - Increased ability to push work to others (I don't like this, but the system encourages it) - Ability to practice detaching passion from work (I actually like engineering, but this place just destroys the engineering spirit; I am moving on before it dies)

Cons: - Useless exercises - Tedious - Primitive infrastructure; I was actually assigned to do regression, just pressing buttons. Very stressful since I wanted to create something. - Infighting for resources (machines, disk space, tools) - Worked through holidays; I value my free time. - THIS IS A SALES COMPANY; ENGINEERS ARE NOT VALUED. - Very monotone makeup of employees, very subservient employees. - Low morale - A lot of knee-jerk reactions, no long-term planning, no foresight. - Management is totally disconnected from engineers, living in LALA land. - Human Network my kabooze, more like the Slave Network. - Too many contractors doing okay jobs and leaving employees to clean up the mess. - Impossible deadlines, constant pressure. Work/life - Indian higher-ups pushing work to India. - Continuous breach of contract: salaried for 40 hours, working 60++

Pros: Great culture, diversified and inclusive. The benefits are good.

Cons: Cannot find any cons so far.

Pros: Healthy work-life balance and a wonderful culture.

Cons: I'm not sure I have found any cons to working at Cisco yet.