A mediocre tech environment with startup spirit but no startup prospects
Pros
- It's possible to learn a lot since each team is up to choose any technology. However, it also a problem, since each team owns (maintains) that zoo of technologies. If you have Technology A and something breaks ⇒ go and fix it; - The previous point also brings that the technological stack is pretty modern; - Non-financial part of Cisco compensation is good; - Great colleagues, willing to help and work hard; - No micro-management (since no management); - A product is great and unique in the sense;
Cons
- With the company now just a division of Cisco, the cash compensation is at not very competitive level compared to more established companies in the Valley. - ThousandEyes still positions itself as a "start-up" despite it being acquired by Cisco. It means a lot of OKRs, tight deadlines, shortage of people, a lot of responsibility. At least, that's how I felt; - I've met people who knew absolutely nothing about Frontend being gently "asked" to build UIs for months because that was the goal for the team and personal goals don't usually align with team's goals; - Full-stack teams imply that you, as a contributor, must be able both to grasp the essence of an efficient query for one database, be able to build UIs, and always be part of the on-call rotation. You also have to keep in mind that one team's area of responsibility is often very large, and there are often not that many developers. 😉 - Past developers, and now "effective" team managers who have been with the company for a very long time, in my feeling have absolutely no idea how to help develop and help grow, but only make sure OKRs are met. Just ask a manager how he helped his IC grow in past few years and how many engineers got promotions because of his guidance. Also, ask how many developers have left his team in the past year; - In my opinion, many internal systems are still immature, which leads to a lot of constant changes & annoying routine work; - Once you set everything up for work, no boring week-long training on a very complex product - you are just given a task and from that moment on you are on your own.
