Cisco

This might be a good company for someone who needs an average job that pays bills and doesn't bother too much. It's an ideal company to retire (or for already retired people).

People are nice and friendly, with long holidays, good social activities, and food.

I would completely not recommend this company for recent graduates, adepts of new technologies, reformers, and those who like challenges. It might even be dangerous for fresh people after university: you could pick up outdated engineering practices and learn only reinvented wheels instead of modern tools.

Regarding the business itself, the company totally failed the opportunity when everyone switched to either hybrid or fully remote work. Ask yourself, have you ever heard about Webex at all (software or devices)? You might have heard about Skype, Zoom, even BlueJeans, but not about video conferencing devices developed mainly in Oslo, Norway.

I also want to highlight the following cons:

• Missing onboarding process
• Processes are vague in general
• Close to zero internal documentation
• Outdated technologies and engineering practices
• Small R&D investments
• Engineers with “senior” titles are weak as engineers
• Communications between departments have seen better days
• Politics, a lot

Focus on improving engineering culture and processes.

Add more structure to the teams and departments.

Promote bright engineers.