Cisco

Good pay, time off, and benefits. Depending on the group, they do have reasonable work-life management. The nice thing is that employees seem to have the ability to move on to different groups (lateral moves) if they are tired of their projects. Cisco does have a new group (Emerging Technologies) that's trying to be more like a start-up environment by looking into new business areas.

Large company: Lots of processes, meetings galore.

Political: It's more about who you know rather than your skill set. Cisco does have some really good people and groups though.

Glass ceilings: Promotions are limited, and you really need your manager to fight for you. If you are in a passive group, it's tough to move up.

The belief is that the upper management (John Chambers, etc.) are really the best people you can get to run a company. The middle management (directors, managers, etc.) could be better. Being a large company, it's easy to feel complacent when you are in the trenches.