Unfortunately, after 4 years I didn't see my career transforming to something different, and many of my colleagues felt the same. I wanted to transition from Sales to Marketing, or an international role and got little management support or guidance on how to do this. There is little encouragement for trying new roles not in your direct department. I know many who have left Cisco, gotten other outside experience and then come back in a new role. That was one of the main reasons I left.
Also, there was little work life balance for me. I was handsomely compensated as an Account Manager, but in return, I worked 70-80 hour weeks sometimes, and almost never took vacation. I worked when I was sick, when my parents were ill, etc. It was great that Cisco allowed me to telecommute when I was ill and when my parents were sick, but in return I was expected to be "connected" at all times. I took two 10 day vacations during my 4 year tenure at Cisco and had to get permission to leave my cell phone/email off while traveling so I could actually enjoy it.
Also I didn't really feel it had a "work hard, play hard" atmosphere either. I have a small handful of close friends from my Cisco days but besides that, no one in the office really wanted to interact or socialize with each other after work hours so I also left the company with few long lasting relationships, despite my best efforts. The company culture is fairly conservative and bureaucratic- I didn't find it a "fun" place to work.
