Mastercard
Mastercard Career Growth & Development
Frequently Asked Questions
Career growth at Mastercard is built around employee ownership, internal mobility, mentorship, structured learning, and opportunities to grow across roles, functions, and geographies. The company says careers are built through curiosity, collaboration, and the freedom to grow in new directions—not only through formal programs or promotions.
- Employee-owned career paths: Mastercard empowers employees to own their careers through Unlocked, its AI-driven internal talent marketplace. Unlocked connects employees with mentors, projects, learning, volunteer opportunities, and open roles based on skills they have and skills they want to build. In 2024, 3,000 project roles were filled and more than 1,300 mentoring relationships were formed through Unlocked.
- Hands-on projects and mobility: Employees can build skills through stretch assignments, cross-functional projects, technical Guilds, and internal opportunities. One employee said Unlocked “deepened my expertise in cybersecurity” and helped position her as a key resource before moving into a cyber role. Another said an Unlocked project “wasn’t simply a task list,” but a mentorship experience that helped him learn Salesforce, financial modeling, and contract review.
- Structured development and leadership support: Mastercard supports learning through the Learning at Mastercard Hub, technical Guilds, tuition assistance, certifications, and the Mastercard Leadership Academy, which provides coaching, mentorship, executive onboarding, and people-leader development aligned with The Mastercard Way. Early-career employees can also grow through internships, Launch, MBA programs, and apprenticeships.
- External review signals: Employee reviews also point to strong learning opportunities, mentorship, career development, and exposure to impactful work. One Glassdoor reviewer praised “numerous learning opportunities, mentorship programs, and clear development paths,” while Comparably feedback highlights the ability to work on projects aligned with employee interests and skills. Some reviews note that advancement can vary by team or feel slower in parts of a large organization. (Glassdoor and Comparably)
Bottom line: Mastercard offers strong career growth for employees who want to learn continuously, build relationships, and take ownership of their path. Growth is supported by formal learning infrastructure, mentoring, internal mobility, and hands-on projects across a global technology company.
Mastercard takes an intentional approach to helping employees build new skills, explore new opportunities, and grow their careers over time. Career development is supported through curated learning, internal mobility, technical communities, academic assistance, leadership development, and hands-on innovation programs.
- Curated learning and internal mobility: Employees can access an expansive learning library through Unlocked, Mastercard’s AI-driven internal talent marketplace. Unlocked connects employees with projects, mentors, learning pathways, volunteer opportunities, and open roles based on skills they have and skills they want to build. In 2024, 3,000 project roles were filled and more than 1,300 mentoring relationships were formed through Unlocked. One employee said, “Unlocked not only deepened my expertise in cybersecurity but also positioned me as a key resource,” helping her move into a new cyber role.
- Technical Guilds and learning communities: Mastercard’s internal technical Guilds bring together employees with similar expertise, including engineering, data, and other technical disciplines, to share best practices, build networks, and learn across teams and regions. These communities support knowledge-sharing, collaboration, hackathons, bootcamps, and innovation-focused learning that help employees stay ahead of emerging trends.
- Academic assistance and formal development: Mastercard supports employees pursuing formal education with tuition assistance for certifications, undergraduate studies, and graduate studies. The company also offers learning through the Learning at Mastercard Hub, job-family-specific training, online course access, conferences, paid certifications, and personal development resources. External reviews reinforce this, with employees citing strong learning opportunities, mentorship programs, and clear development paths. (Glassdoor)
- Leadership development: The Mastercard Leadership Academy provides structured development for people leaders at each stage of their leadership journey. Programs include coaching, mentorship, skill-building, executive onboarding, people leader foundations, and development experiences aligned with The Mastercard Way. These programs are designed to help leaders build high-performing teams, navigate the organization, and prepare for future roles.
- Innovation and hands-on opportunities: Employees can grow through Discovery Days, Sandbox Challenges, AI Garage, global hackathons, developer bootcamps, and cross-functional innovation programs. One employee described an Unlocked project as more than “a task list,” saying mentorship helped him learn Salesforce, financial modeling, and contract review.
- External Reviews: External reviews also point to strong learning opportunities, mentorship, impactful projects, and room to build a long-term career. (Glassdoor and Comparably)
Bottom line: Career growth at Mastercard is strongest for employees who want to keep learning, build relationships, explore new paths, and contribute to meaningful work across a global technology company.
Employees at Mastercard describe mentorship and coaching as a network of support that meets people wherever they are in their career journey. Support comes through formal programs, manager guidance, peer communities, ERGs, Guilds, and Unlocked, Mastercard’s AI-driven internal talent marketplace.
- Mentorship that feels natural: Through Unlocked, employees can connect with mentors, projects, learning opportunities, volunteer roles, and open positions based on their skills and goals. In 2024, more than 1,300 mentoring relationships were formed through Unlocked. One employee said Unlocked “deepened my expertise in cybersecurity” and helped position her as a key resource for cyber-related work, while another described an Unlocked project as “not simply a task list,” but a mentorship experience that helped him build practical skills.
- Communities that share and inspire: Mastercard’s internal technical Guilds bring together employees with similar expertise to share best practices, build networks, and learn from one another across business units and regions. ERGs also create spaces for connection, belonging, and professional support; Mastercard has more than 160 ERG chapters around the world. External reviewers echo this sense of community, describing teams as “collaborative,” “inclusive,” and places where “everyone’s voice matters.” (Glassdoor and Comparably)
- Coaching for leaders and future leaders: The Mastercard Leadership Academy provides structured development for people leaders at each stage of their journey, including coaching, mentorship, executive onboarding, people leader foundations, and skill-building aligned with The Mastercard Way. These programs help leaders build high-performing teams, navigate the organization, and support employees through everyday rhythms, milestones, performance, and development conversations.
- Peer support that matters: Mastercard also supports employees through peer-to-peer networks like Mental Health Champions and Employee Resource Groups. The Mental Health Champions network includes more than 260 certified champions globally, with 29% of champions serving as people leaders. One external reviewer praised Mastercard for having a “positive, understanding, and collaborative team,” adding that managers created an open space to raise concerns and improve together. (Glassdoor)
Bottom line: Mentorship at Mastercard is not limited to one program; it is built into projects, leadership, peer communities, and a culture where employees are encouraged to grow together.
Mastercard's Candidate Tradeoffs
If you’re weighing whether Mastercard is the right fit, these are the core tradeoffs to consider.
- Mastercard places greater emphasis on employee-driven career ownership than on highly structured, centrally defined career planning processes.
Mastercard Employee Perspectives
At Mastercard, career growth is built through curiosity, collaboration, and opportunities to explore new directions. Unlocked, Mastercard’s AI-driven talent marketplace, connects employees with hands-on projects, mentors, learning, and internal career opportunities so they can build skills with intention and purpose.
“Unlocked not only deepened my expertise in cybersecurity but also positioned me as a key resource for cyber-related matters within my team. When a position opened in the cyber field, I applied, and because of my work on this project I think they recognized the expertise I would bring. Unlocked was a critical stop on my journey to this new position.”
At Mastercard, career growth happens through hands-on experiences that help employees learn, contribute, and build confidence in new areas. Through Unlocked, Luis joined a project focused on business and financial planning for new segments in Latin America and the Caribbean
“The project was driven by my desire to learn and gain valuable experience. It wasn’t simply a task list. I had a lot to learn, but Eduardo provided mentorship and collaborated with me on everything from navigating Salesforce to building financial models and reviewing contracts.”
“They call me Ms. Mastercard,” she says. “This company is my family; it’s in my DNA. I grew up here.”
Growing with the company
As the technology changed, so did workplace culture. “There were mind-blowing changes in business,” she says. “We finally got an HR department. That was a pretty big change. I’m like, ‘What does HR do?’ We had two people in HR who kept us in order.”
Before Mastercard relaxed the dress code around 2000, those who wanted to wear jeans paid — literally — for the privilege (the money went to charity). “In the early days, we had to wear pantyhose every single day,” Ewing says. “Guys wore ties; they wore suits every day.”
Today the St. Louis team embraces flex time and hybrid work, but in the early years they stuck to a strict schedule: clock in, clock out, five days a week. The tradeoff was a close-knit staff that met downstairs for peanuts and beer every Friday. “People smoked in the office,” she laughs. “That was crazy.”
For most of Ewing’s career, she was usually the only woman at the conference table. Although she says she was never treated differently, she has taken pride in watching more women climb through the ranks. “Many more women in leadership roles, which I love to see at any organization, and we’re kicking butt,” she says. “Hear us roar.”
"No one can say that I cannot adjust to change, because that's all I've seen my entire career," she says. "It's what kept me interested. I'm still curious what we're going to do next."
Even as the company evolves, one thing hasn’t changed: Its nerve center remains in Missouri. The data center, which relocated to the St. Louis suburb O’Fallon in 2001, is still Mastercard’s largest, managing hundreds of millions of transactions a day. And whereas Ewing once worked with a single developer, the data center is now the nucleus of a 4,000-employee Tech Hub, a birthplace of innovations that continues to transform how money moves around the world.
As she reflects on five decades at Mastercard, Ewing frequently circles back to what has kept her there.
“I’m still passionate about my job,” she says. “People ask, ‘How have you stayed so long?’ I love it, that’s how.”
Mastercard Employee Reviews
What People Are Saying About Mastercard
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Internal Mobility: An internal marketplace (Unlocked) helps employees discover cross-functional projects, mentors, volunteer opportunities, and open roles across the company. Feedback suggests this access broadens networks and creates pathways to new responsibilities or roles.
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Training & Education Access: A company-wide learning hub, role-specific resources, and support for external education and certifications are emphasized. Feedback suggests these tools enable continuous upskilling in technology, data, cybersecurity, and related domains.
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Mentorship & Sponsorship: Personalized coaching, mentoring programs, leadership development, and the Launch program’s structured mentorship are described. Feedback suggests guidance from experienced colleagues and exposure to senior leaders strengthens decision-making and leadership capabilities.
Mastercard's Benefits
Defines roles and sets expectations for success
Encourages knowledge sharing and cross-functional collaboration
Hosts Lunch and Learns
Job training & conferences
Managers hold regular development check-ins
Offers apprenticeship programs
Offers mentorship program
Provides formal manager training and leadership development
Provides online course subscriptions
Provides opportunities to take on expanding responsibilities
Provides paid industry certifications
Provides personal development training
Provides structured early-career growth opportunities
Provides structured onboarding for new employees
Provides training support and resources for AI adoption
Provides tuition assistance
Provides tuition reimbursement
Provides virtual coaching services
Supports employee-driven initiatives, not just top-down priorities
Documented career progression frameworks
Documented path to leadership development
Encourages lateral mobility to expand skills and impact
Posts new positions internally and encourages employees to apply
Prioritizes promotion advancement based on impact
Promote from within
Provides customized development tracks
