Business Consultant - Business Consultant Mastercard Employee Review

4.0
13 July 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

APT has a great working environmental for young professionals; the culture is entrepreneurial and 'techie' with a hint of corporate professionalism for good measure. The work we do at APT is VERY practical and affects the real-world. I love walking into my clients' stores and observing my surroundings to see what test cell they are in for various initiatives they are running! Because of APT's size, the feedback cycle is excellent. As an employee approaching my second year, I get to gather recurring feedback from managers, principals, and VPs on strengths and development opportunities. Working hours at APT are quite flexible. Employees have tasks assigned by various teams, and it is up to the employee to choose how and when to meet those deadlines. If you like getting your day started at 7am, go for it, if you'd rather stroll in at 10am, go for it (just get your work done on time!)

Cons

Hours. Like most consulting firms, APT is not a 9-5 job. Hours can be long at times, especially when a readout of an analysis is around the corner. Size (sometimes). Because of our size (~50 employees in San Francisco office), we still have tasks such as 'kitchen duty'. While very start-up-like, I'd prefer not to have a task on my calendar telling me it's my day to run the dishwasher this week. This may change soon as we continue to grow.

Explore other reviews about Mastercard

5.0
21 June 2026
Anonymous intern
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Growth-driven, supportive, mentorship, project opportunities

Cons

Large company, sometimes hard to navigate / large learning curve due to size of company

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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