Cisco Systems – “A perfect place to work - if you are average or slightly above an average engineer”

Pros

Work environment is beautiful and well equipped.
Flexibility
Stability
High Technology

Cons

Management simply treats most engineers as replaceable.

Horrible management of software code base with respect to customer releases results in poor usage of SW Engineers. Most are getting burned out doing upkeep work and all new work seems to go to contractors.

Management makes it known that engineers cannot be involved in business and completely shields them from any of it.

Advice to Senior Management

Compensate the good engineers and stop trying to align everyone in the middle (like sheep). It is insulting to give baseline raises to those below the curve without ANY performance base.

Middle management seems to be hand picked to be "yes men" that have no career ambition and thus have no interest in promoting their engineers for extra effort and exceeding expectations.

Take a look around... you cannot keep saying that "you should be happy to have a job in this economy" and use this tactic in suspending salaries and bonuses for 3 years. We have literally dozens of job openings and we cannot find a soul to fill them.