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Great Pay, Culture Lacking

Software Engineer
Current Employee
Has worked at Cisco for less than 1 year
June 11, 2008
Austin, Texas
5.0
RecommendsApproves of CEO
Pros

You are encouraged to collaborate and seek visibility, even externally. Some employees can even work from home or in a remote office. Managers are generally open-minded and encourage asking tough questions and challenging the status quo.

Industry leader. Still a growth company.

Compensation and benefits are excellent. For instance, the medical and dental package is second to none and much better than most other comparable companies.

“If you are uncomfortable with change, Cisco might not be the place for you. There are significant leadership and strategy changes as we adapt to different markets. Many projects we work on are started and stopped haphazardly by product marketing or senior leadership.”

Cons

Many things in the new hire process are unorganized for new employees. I particularly dislike the 2+ week overhead trying to get initial items set up.

Expectations for corporate culture may be put on badges, but I am not feeling the type of camaraderie that I had, nor the new employee immersion expectations that occurred for my last job with "Big Chip Inc". It's starting to feel like more people are there putting in their 9-5 instead of being there because they enjoy their work more. Then again, I am biased, and so is my viewpoint of being a Software Engineer.

Advice to Management

Please start thinking more like engineers and less like business people. I feel like too many suits are running the show without considering the possible side effects of poor design decisions or the like.

If you are uncomfortable with change, Cisco might not be the place for you. There are significant leadership and strategy changes as we adapt to different markets. Many projects we work on are started and stopped haphazardly by product marketing or senior leadership.

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