I was lucky enough to start off my career during the pandemic because Cisco made it possible. They also went above and beyond to make sure their employees were taken care of during these times. It is a cliché, but the best part about Cisco is all the great people you will meet and work with. Even though I am working from home, I am still motivated every day to get out of bed and see my colleagues over Webex and help our customer and partners to succeed in the best possible way.
Cons
Cisco is one of the biggest IT companies in the world and is therefore divided into several smaller "sections" that make up the company as a whole. That makes me feel like one in a million (or 1:75,000), so if you want to stand out and make a name for yourself it is probably harder to do that in Cisco than in other smaller companies.
Cisco is a great company to work for. Super friendly, they are commited to what they do, support a lot internal promotions and growth and pay very well! I have been here for 2 years and plan to go nowhere. In fact, the mayority of my colleagues have been at the company for so many years 10-15-20 in some cases! this says something about a company!
Cons
Since it is a huge corporation, decisions come from very high levels, so making changes is often complicated and slow