Pros: Very engaging, with lots of group activities including paintball, coding competitions, and giant luncheons and socials. Real work with real teams on real products; my code shipped and went into production, which is the best feeling as an intern.

Cons: All the interns in your summer housing work at Google and make twice as much.

Pros: Cisco won #1 Workplace in the World, and there's a reason for that. Unlike many other companies, they didn't cancel their internship in summer 2020 because of COVID-19 and instead went all in on a virtual internship. There was so much support for interns, and it was a very structured program overall, with a complete onboarding process, networking events, and many mentorship opportunities. This is a company that cares about every employee, and that was readily apparent in the internship itself.

Cons: It is a big company with many, many moving parts. If you aren't into big companies, Cisco may not be what you're looking for.

Pros: Cisco really tried to make interns feel welcome, even when we were remote.

Cons: The remote experience was definitely not as fun as an in-person experience would have been.