Six Months At Cisco

Wednesday September 19 was my six month anniversary at Cisco. I met lots of new people including outside my department, learned new skills and strengthen old skills such as Crystal Reports and SQL, and experienced working in a multi-billion, tech company. I never experienced those three working at my last company. Working at Cisco was a good parallel career move choice.

I’m happy working at Cisco for better and for worse. In my second week, I attended an off-site meeting in Vancouver, BC, Canada. The first 4 months at Cisco was frustrated learning. There were lots of trial and error, lots of experimenting, and lots of making mistakes. I finished an assignment and then I was told to make modifications. All workers must learn on their own and correct their mistakes. Assignments must be completed at highest expectations, mistakes learned and corrected fast, and the managers and above want the information quickly without the “what the heck am I reading” questions. There are politics and bull shit which every company has. I have become a better worker.

In my last company, I completed the same assignments, performed the same responsibilities, and worked at the same cubicle, I mean, wall for years. My last job was boring. The work environment at Cisco is a new breath of fresh air, a new workplace I sought for years. In my last company, the office manager and managing partner did nothing such that if they worked at Cisco, they were fired immediately.

I experienced new hires and people leaving the company. Some workers transferred to another location. And some were laid-off. Good news is news the public know. Bad news is news kept internally. I’m getting used to the flexible hours. In my last job, hours were set. As long as the work is done, workers can come and go anytime. Some workers work at home telecommuting. I’m old school. I have to work at work. And using instant messaging is vital to keep in touch with co-workers and even family and friends.

It took me eight years since I graduated San Jose State to work in a tech company. As a geek, Cisco is my daily cup of tea. I have my security badge, I have a laptop, I have a commute, I eat in the cafeteria, I have my cubicle, and I have access to the Cisco network. I’m working in a Silicon Valley tech company.