Cisco

1. Chance to work with seasoned engineers who are good at what they do.
2. Large company, relatively stable.
3. Well-structured, with many support groups: SI, DevTest, Diags, EDVT, Mechanical, Manufacturing, etc.
4. Good benefits; healthcare is the best benefit now.

1. Meetings about meetings.

2. Management's lack of foresight in project planning.

3. Cronyism. Cisco is an amalgam of many smaller businesses due to acquisitions. Each group has its own culture and school of thought. If your group is merged with another group and your group is not on top, attrition will ensue.

4. Innovation seems to be mostly due to acquisitions. This company is little 'r', big 'D'. Do not expect to do anything beyond the mold of the immediate project unless you are in the upper echelons of the company (DE or Fellow).

5. A company a recent college graduate should not consider; growth is limited. A start-up or younger company would be better.

6. Pay is industry average. You can do better.

7. Senior management has misled the CEO for years. They indicate the market is moving in a specific direction when it is not.

8. While age discrimination is not permitted, management finds ways to make it happen. Over 60 and chances of being fodder for headcount reduction increase.

9. The days seem to flow seamlessly by. Each day seems more and more like the last. Before you know it, months of time have passed into the abyss.

10. Due to stress, people have experienced heart trouble. I have gone through two anxiety attacks before the age of 30. Heart medication is likely to be required by your doctor should you even be a first-line manager.

11. Cisco is becoming more and more like a Chinese-owned company.

12. Management has a propensity to not tell the truth. They have and will continue to mislead the ICs (non-management employees) about their prospects for advancement and the direction the company is going in.

Consider a more reasonable schedule for the projects.

It is a bad idea to pull in project schedules by months in order to make up for marketing's inability to plan.

Knee-jerk reactions to any problem, without understanding the intricacies of why it exists and what is the best course of action in the long run, wreak havoc with other groups.