Ciena reviews

4.1

82% would recommend to a friend

(2,292 total reviews)
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Gary B. Smith

85% approve of CEO

74% positive business outlook

Ciena has an employee rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars, based on 2,292 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Ciena employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Telecommunications industry (3.6 stars).

Reviews by job title

2K reviews
3.0
Apr 19, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Balanced work and personal life Laid back atmosphere Good support in terms of R&D enviornment, tools, etc. Opportunities to be exposed to one of the best optical technologies in the world

Cons

Very limited room for career advancement Too much mid-level management overhead Important positions are always held by people who are into process/bureaucracy

4.0
Apr 2, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Ciena has great potential and is often changing due to acquisitions and changing business climates. The company does reasonably well in reacting to these changes although it is often a painful process

Cons

Senior Management often has desired goals posted and communicated but middle management does little to create solid plans and steps to acheive those goals..

2.0
Mar 5, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Local Gym Good location if you are in Ville Saint Laurent Good startup for engineers eager to work closely with Low Cost Manufacturing Health and Dental benefits are reasonable.

Cons

Senior Management inherited from the Nortel Era in Montreal. Very dysfunctional at the level of cross organizational activities. Very short-sighted middle managers and no long term vision No formal training. A lot of self preservationist attitude that make you sick to your stomach. In brief, the management at Montreal Ciena is the wash off from the bankrupt Nortel days. Unfortunately the flagship products are that of the Ciena Ottawa/Montreal which makes the long term vision very bleak if head office in Linthicum, MD does not do anything about it. Very "clicky" and very hard to break into the ranks for the established "hierarchies". A lot of arrogance and attitude. Zero chance for progress and promotion. Overall, a place to start with your career but not beyond 3 years maximum. If you are ambitious and looking for new challenges then it will be a hard place to stay in for very long unless you get accepted in the established clicks. You could be the most educated person of the bunch and yet managers will only think of their service impact on the short term rather than benefiting the company with the expertise of the talented and educated professionals.

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