Consulting with an analytical and software spin - Business Consultant Mastercard Employee Review

5.0
21 Sept 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

As a Business Consultant I get to work on multiple clients with multiple teams, so I have exposure to different industries, types of projects, and people to work with all the time. It makes every day have something new and keeps the challenges exciting and rewarding. There is a little bit a travel (1-2 times a month), so just enough to have different experiences but not so much that it takes over your life. Within a year at APT I have had tremendous opportunity to work with executives of large companies, having even presented in person to CEOs and CFOs. There is a lot of growth opportunity and I can continually ask for specific type of work I might want to get involved with. For the SF office in particular, the work space is relaxed and fun. We are still small enough where we really get to know each other and there are a lot of ways to be social with coworkers. We have office sponsored events several times a month in addition to the smaller more spontaneous hanging out. In the end, I truly believe in what APT is trying to do as a company, and that makes the work so much more meaningful. We are a software firm, but we really think about how business people will interpret our analytics. We are a consulting firm, but our recommendations are based on data driven results. We build well rounded people who don't just do their job, but get involved in other parts of the company, from recruiting, to product development, to marketing, to culture building.

Cons

APT could improve its recruiting to widen its candidate pool. There are sometimes obvious gaps in diversity. Luckily, there are various efforts in the works to try and tackle this. Not being in DC can sometimes be frustrating. We are increasingly growing as a global company and we need to think more about how to improve cross office communication, collaboration, and culture. We are definitely not a 9-5 job (I would say 50-55 hours is the average), and there are some later nights and stressful situations. Usually if you're staying late, though, it's with your team and for an important reason so everyone feels motivated to get the job done. We also are compensated enough to make it worth it.

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Mastercard Response
9y
It’s wonderful that you are having such an enriching work experience as a Business Consultant. I hear you on widening our candidate pool - we do have work to create a more diverse employee population. But we are focused on it and recognize this is a gap. We are excited about the initiatives of our Business Resource Groups, such as the Women’s Leadership Network, PRIDE and the Latin Network and committed to taking action in recruiting to improve the diversity of our hiring efforts. And I agree, as we grow across the globe, maintaining our company culture is absolutely paramount and increasing our cross office collaboration and communication is as important as ever.

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5.0
23 June 2026
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CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

People are highly intelligent and things seem to operate efficiently

Cons

Large ship so changes are hard to make

4.0
27 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Mastercard does a great job fostering an inclusive and supportive environment. There are genuinely good people throughout the organization, and leadership often invests in employee engagement through events, recognition, and culture-building initiatives. I enjoyed many of the relationships I built while working there, and there are teams that truly care about collaboration and supporting one another.

Cons

Compensation at the director level did not feel competitive compared to the level of responsibility expected. Career advancement can also be extremely challenging due to how top-heavy the organization is with senior leadership roles. There are a large number of Senior Vice Presidents, sometimes without clear scope or experience aligned to the title, which creates limited room for high-performing employees to grow. At times, it felt like senior leaders were being hired primarily to manage or communicate with other senior leaders, rather than drive meaningful operational impact. In product and go-to-market roles especially, priorities are often heavily driven by funding decisions. It can be frustrating when projects suddenly shift in importance or remain underfunded for long periods of time while awaiting senior leadership review. This sometimes leaves highly talented employees in limbo, unable to move initiatives forward despite strong momentum or market opportunity. The organization can also be very comfortable with the status quo, which creates a slower pace that many employees seem accustomed to. For people who are highly motivated and eager to drive change, it can feel difficult to navigate the number of roadblocks and layers of approval required to move initiatives forward.

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