Work Hard to Make a Difference, Play Hard to Reward Yourself, and Make a Lot of $$$...at Cisco
Pros
First of all, I am PROUD to work for Cisco Systems, as it is the leader in the high tech industry. Secondly, though all Cisco employees work very hard, we are all well compensated for our hard work. Cisco employees (from admins to sales) make an average of $130k per year. I am in sales, so if you are looking to run a business with the backing of a huge corporation, Cisco Systems is the place to be. The comany and management truly empowers their employees to reach success and grow with the company. At 24 years old, I make six figures and after less than 2 years in the field, I am already up for promotion. Stock options are great, beneftits are great, and the "work hard, play hard" mentality at Cisco makes it tremendously fun to work for this company!!
Cons
Though you pretty much set your own hours (nobody really breathing down your neck) the hours can tend to be long, if you are driven to succeed. Given everything is technology oriented, you can find yourself on your computer working long days into the late night and on weekends. You are required (and rightly compensated) to work whatever hours it takes to get the job done. If you can complete a task and be done by 4pm everyday...great. If you need to work until 10pm to get everything done that day, then that is what you must do. You are encouraged to take time off away from Cisco, but that can sometimes be hard for people that are as driven as I am to succeed and exceed expectations.