I have been here eleven years and I used to really care about Cisco. I thought it was special. But somewhere along the way, probably around year eight, I just lost it. Now all I want is out. The problem is I can't just quit because I have a mortgage and a kid who is starting college in two years, so I need some kind of package to bridge the gap while I figure out my next move. Every single time there is a rumor about layoffs, I let myself get hopeful. No luck so far, though.
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Invest in yourself and your family. Enjoy your work and your life with family and loved ones. DO NOT rely on ANY company. They all lay off workers because workers are treated like a product they come and go selling then stop (end of lifecycle) ,,, what is left for you is what you learn, adding to your skills, and customers you serve... If you relax and keep working, the layoff will catch you when your products or your skills ends. Examples are these ongoing acquisitions and their related layoffs; they look like a full bottle of water that they get consumed and the bottle gets emptied. Be proactive and take initiatives to enhance your career. Assume you are already laid off and you must be active searching your next success. I did 9 Ys at Cisco with promotions and Q by Q stocks, then left and did much bigger than Cisco. Cisco and its stock were useful to get my kids into top schools now they have passed my achievements with their own careers in healthcare and pharma as global leaders in their fields.
Hi
hello
Layoff life is overrated. I know the feeling you’re going through. Got laid off after 18 years. I was a mess when I left. I feel more healthy mentally and physically.
The job market is brutal. I saved a year’s salary in prep for my layoff. I get health insurance through my partner. That + my phat severance I’ve been ok. I’m consulting but finding perm work has been brutal.
Do whatever will makes you happy. Take care of you and your family.
I know exactly what is going on with Cisco? I follow networking companies earnings report and Gartner report. I know exactly where Cisco and other networking companies stand in each networking technology.
Greed is everywhere at top level and hiring is broken with favoring friends and family members in most of the groups.
Many know how to play the corporate game! 60-70% of Directors, managers and VPs do not know how to motivate team and no good vision in their tech domain. There are 20-30% good managers, rest are useless !!
I left the group of old networking technology in my group at Cisco and nepotism. Got a better opportunity to learn a different technology and better pay. I don't have to deal with the incompetent Indian manager any more from my group at Cisco.
I thought it was special.
Having been a customer over the ages I can say at least in software Cisco has been special in a short bus kind of way for more than three decades.
No other company in networking is as good as Cisco.
Does this mean every other company also keeps releasing software where whole subsystems don't actually come up?
@jy You've been gone for almost a decade and you still come to this site? wtf? Looks like you left just a CR was taking over, thus you don't even have a clue what Cisco is like these days.
Reply to previous comment ….
I left Cisco long ago…. Almost a decade ….
Cisco is a good place to learn wired and wireless technology. No other company in networking is as good as Cisco.
Culture depends on your manager ( is he modern/young open-minded or old school idi or ?). Is it just work or fun activities or common interests in the group? All depends on that !
Don’t jump to conclusions before looking into facts !!
you are like many others - you have been at Cisco far too long
once most folks pass the ten year point they are just a barnacle clinging to the hull
what's more, you have hurt your own resume by clinging to a D-list company for so long
at the ten year mark, employees should be required to book an appointment to make their case in front of the BOD...95% of appointments would be declined beforehand, and out of the remaining 5%, only a few would be allowed to stay on
I have worked for other companies where culture and nepotism is out of control.
Group I worked at Cisco was a real good one when I joined but outsourcing and lot of contractors came in and destroyed the culture and quality of the code.
Grass is not always greener on the other side. Depends on the group, your manager and coworkers.
You can join any FANNG. Company and it all depends on the group culture. Culture differs from group to group.
Being cut is not necessarily a good deal. My package ended up being significantly less than the unvested stock that they took away.
you have a package to bridge the gap, it's called your salary. if you're that miserable, get off your a-s and start looking. if you feel how you say you feel, it'll be the best thing you could do for yourself
I come back here a few times a year just to reminisce. I was restructured over five years ago. Long term psychologically, it was the best thing that could have happened for both my mental and physical health.
Likewise, I had children in college, and a mortgage. Once I left, I was able to find other employment, but most importantly, my sanity. We downsized our lives financially.
I am thankful that Cisco allowed us to raise our family, but towards the end of my time there, it was inherently miserable. I felt I was dealing mostly with rampantly narcissistic people; I know that, because when I was at Cisco, I was also rampantly narcissistic.
Part of the post-Cisco journey has been to exchange the quest for money with the quest for mindfulness and simple peace. I am so thankful for my wake up call by being restructured.
I don't blame Cisco. I blame myself for turning into a narcissist. Everything was always someone else's problem. I lost most sense of reflection, the last two years were mostly about covering any blame on failed project that might have been my own, and pushing any issues on problems to other teams and co-workers. I had this down to an art, where the process was done without confrontation or negativity. But it was inherently wrong, as I was often part of the problem, instead of the solution.
The ultimate solution was for me to leave, and then I luckily, with time and counseling, returned to the way I was long ago, and now live a much simpler life, and actually can laugh; including at myself.
I knew a lot of people who left voluntarily in the 2008 crisis when they couldn't get a package, but they also took pay cuts as deep as 40%. The job market right now is the most difficult I've seen in my lifetime so I'd be striving to get that next job rather than a package to get out.
The grass is not greener on the other side of the (layoff) fence.
@OP that’s weak. If you want out, start applying and interviewing. You’ll have better luck finding a new job while you’re employed. Don’t wait for a package before you do anything if you are that miserable.
Cancer, like yourself, is the problem.
Don’t be a tool. Being cut is not a blessing you think it is. You clearly still have too much overhead. Quit acting so entitled and be thankful to have a job. In this tech job market, those cut won’t find new jobs. AI and H1B’s are our replacements. Do you even pay attention to what’s happening in other tech companies all around us? So I would quit complaining and ride it out as long as possible. Though I’m sure you would be on a cut list anyway if you are slacking.