CSTG support team one of the worst places to work for - Technical Support Engineer Cisco Employee Review

1.0
11 Nov 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

there are no positives to be mentioned

Cons

One of the worst ever teams to be a part of, I cant speak for the whole company, but whatever i have heard from several teams points in a very negative direction, the management has a very nasty habit of culling its head count annually, you walk around assuming the worst about your job and then there is the constant nagging fear in the back of your head saying "will they fire me this time?" . But lets stick to CSTG support team more specifically the cspc support team, them management is extremely poor, there is absolutely no work life balance, there was one instance when the manager actually called me to ask where i was when i was working from home sick, there is an overwhelming atmosphere of micro management, where threats of firing is hurled in your direction(not directly of course but its always implied).....but lets assume for a second that all companies have this problem and I am just a disgruntled old employee.......The team that consists mostly of linux administrators are extremely extremely extremely poor technically, they have a feeling that no company will hire them owing to there poor skills and they are absolutely right ..nobody will hire them..... but this is not their fault the company overburdens them with the same monotonous work every single day which sometimes takes more than 10 hours to complete(which literally kills their personal life) ... they are not allowed to learn anything new, because they dont know what to learn(they are sorrounded by self acclaimed technical leads who are actually idiots with no technical skills and are incapable of teaching or advising the other engineers about any new technologies),obviously if you spend enough time around an idiot you end up being one. This company is not preparing you for the future, it is lead by a management team that is stuck in the past and will only lead you in the direction that will eventually destroy your career and leave you unsatisfied and unhappy.

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5.0
8 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
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Pros

Great culture, great work life balance. Get to work with leaders across different industries.

Cons

Probably not as high-pace, intense, etc, as some of the other big tech firms

4.0
13 Mar 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I decided to wait almost a year after leaving the company before posting a review. The primary reason being is that when you decide to leave an organization it is usually because there is something there that isn't aligning with you or what you want anymore however, the grass is not always greener someplace else. This has been my experience. In fact, the appreciation I have for the company has grown so much in my time away that I would really like to return. The company truly believes on promoting within and as an employee you are encouraged to grow your career within the organization and learn new skills by taking different positions. Benefits are excellent. Cisco is the industry leader for networking and now cloud. It is sometimes easy to forget that on the daily grind but you are working for the company that everyone looks to for network and infrastructure standards. Culture within the business units managing product lines give you a lot of freedom to be innovative and creative in your approach to your role. In most cases you are given a fair amount of autonomy and control over how you do your job provided that it aligns with the strategic objectives. Benefits, 401k match, RSUs and ESPP are amazing. And while the salaries aren't the top of the industry, they are above market and pretty competitive.

Cons

Cisco can be a machine. There isn't an overt demand for all of your time (even the time outside of work) but more of a subtle, slight encouragement to always be on. If you are not careful, you will live, sleep and eat Cisco 24x7. Don't get me wrong, this is 100% a choice and if you are aware of this subtlety in the culture it is very easy to set appropriate boundaries that will be respected by the company and leadership team. If you don't like where you are in Cisco or what you are working on, give it 6 months because you will be reorg'd. While it is sometimes necessary to realign the company to meet competitive threats or market demands, reorganizing the company once a year is excessive and tends to create a distrusting environment for the rank and file which makes being a leader in the organize challenging. There is a loss of momentum and motivation that occurs a few months before and a few months after reorgs so this leaves the company being effective at delivery and execution only about 70% of the time. While Cisco attracts some bright, motivated people the truth of the matter is you are either cut out for the company and its culture or you're not. If you aren't it will be painfully obvious to you and those around you. Sadly as a leader it is hard to cut dead weight from the team and the only really accepted way is via layoffs, which is why the company reorgs once a year despite the company line about the reorgs.

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Cisco Response
10y
Thank you for such a sincere review. We appreciate your feedback and hope you are pleased to see many of our "We Are Cisco" initiatives. Indeed, it can feel like Cisco frequently changes because it is part of our innovative culture. We thank you for your time with us and wish you the best.
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