I worked at Cisco for 13 years in various departments and in various job roles:
The facts toaday are:
1) Zero pay increases since 2000
2) No more stock options
3) During a career, your Job description may change, but this does not mean a saray increase or promotion, rather increased responsibility for no reward.
4) All perks which made Cisco fun, (International Travel, beers in fridge, tea coffee, home internet, parking) are gone.
5) Expense claiming is a nightmare and is continually audited over the most trivial items, resulting in employees being out of pocket for months.
6) All of the talented Engineers / sales staff have left so you will be pretty much on your own, dont expect to rub shoulders in the corridors with networking guru's as they have long gone.
7) Training assuming it is approved, as there are constant expenses freezes, is conducted inhouse. Typically one person gets to go, then has to train his peers. However the guys who give the training are inexperienced and just read powerpoint slides.
8) Sales targets are strictly managed, so there are no accelerators / bonuses.
9) It is extreemely competative between staff and very political, as all try to claimb the corporate ladder in the hope of achieving a payrise...which is noexistant.
10) Moral is depressed as most staff spend their time planning an escape.
11) Innovation has been replaced by acquisition, so dont plan on being creative.
If you want to have sport with the Cisco person interviewing you, ask them how long they have been in the role and what their career prospect are like within Cisco :)
