Visa Broke Me! - Lead Systems Engineer Visa Inc. Employee Review

1.0
30 Nov 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Large household name with a good reputation. It is was got me my next job! Pay is good, Benefits were good until I decided to leave, and are being pulled away to be "inline with other organizations." Working with a diverse amount of technology was fun. Working with organizations and companies in other companies was fun a few years ago.

Cons

The Pension benefit was good, but taking a 6% paycut for a company who is still grossing $2 Billion last quarter is still a slap in the face to its core workers for a company that wants to be "The Employer of Choice!" Trying to get advancement is basically impossible. I was up for a promotion to a management position that I meet every qualification, had the acceptance of the team members and my would-be immediate manager wanted me. Senior Management would not even allow me to have an interview to show my skills and the value I could bring to the environment. High-Profile, High-Cost projects were given to the kids straight out of college. This is not an environment where a "fail-fast" mentality works, and management misses that. These projects are big and a fail by Visa means we are not just effecting our company, we will effect the markets. Would you give your multi-million shiny new toy to the kid out of college? No! You would give it to be lead by some of your most senior, experienced people. This management feels it is fit to have the older staff look after the legacy environments and give the new toys to the college grads. No wonder the IT organization has/had not delivered any major projects in over a year when I left. Before this IT management came in, we were delivering 4-5 major projects a year. And Speaking of the new management, it is not good when you can hear of the entire IT management structure being replaced in the span of just 18 months. Go look up other studies of what that kind of turmoil does to a company. Absolutely incredible that the board of directories would see this as a major red flag for running a technology of this company and forcing out that many leaders. And then that takes a huge impact on your staff. When I started this company, I was ready to take on the world, and I did. I ran major projects worth $10's Millions. When I left, I was having a very hard time caring about anything because of this management. They are condescending, arrogant, and only want to have others from other companies that they have worked with before working with them.

Explore other reviews about Visa Inc.

5.0
23 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Agile for its size and age

Cons

Difficult industry to navigate. New competition.

2.0
25 June 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Excellent work-life balance, strong 401(k) match, and generally good benefits. There are smart, hardworking people across the company from all walks of life, and the Visa name still carries weight on a resume.

Cons

The work-life balance comes with a tradeoff: innovation moves at a glacial pace. In my experience, Visa was a highly political organization where visibility and relationships often mattered more than performance. Career growth felt slow, especially for high-performing mid-career employees looking to expand their scope or take ownership. There was constant organizational churn. In two years, I had three managers and made it through multiple reorgs, but our entire team lived in constant fear of ongoing layoffs. Layoffs and restructuring felt far more common than leadership acknowledged, which created a disconnect between company messaging and employee reality. The lack of trust for executive leadership is readily apparent across all internal channels. My org was not particularly valued, compensation lagged the market, and the return-to-office rollout was/continues to be handled poorly and rigidly. If you're looking for stability, predictable work, and reasonable hours, Visa can be a good fit. If you're a high performer looking for speed, creativity, ownership, and growth, there are better places to spend your time (and your paycheck will probably be higher).

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