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Hello Mastercard employees. I have been trying to break into MC for long now.
I have 2 yrs workex post MBA. I have experience in data analysis and consulting. But I don't want to get into consulting anymore. I am looking for analytics roles. Anyone here would be able to DM and guide me on the available options at Mastercard?
Location: Gurgaon
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I’ve put myself up for L4 promo this cycle. Assuming I get it, what would be the best next steps to optimize for long-term growth/TC?
My understanding is that L5->L6 is extremely painful at Google. It may be easier to leave for a handful of years and gain managerial experience before returning.
L4->L5 is less challenging; however, I’m under the impression I can do this quicker at another company (if I leave after being freshly promo’d) AND get higher TC.
TC: 270K
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Can you clarify the “billable requirements” that keep you on call 24/7? I was at a firm where I felt like I was on call 24/7 but that was because all the attorneys and their clients had signed a secret Treaty of Endless Suffering where they resolved to do away with popular concepts such as “weekends” and “personal time”. Your firm may have one too - doc#666666
Ahh I see. I think in some firms it’s just baked into the culture that exchanging drafts at 9pm for something that doesn’t need to be ready until the following week is OK. Maybe other partners at your firm approach work differently? There’s some partners at my firm whom you won’t hear a peep out of all weekend even if a deal is happening on Monday, and others who will pester you all weekend even if a deal is not happening for weeks.
I was kidding about the treaty lol but I think working (or not working) at ungodly hours does require a degree of coordination among all attorneys and clients involved in the deal. For example, if a deal is happening on Monday, everyone can tacitly agree that everything needs to be buttoned up by Friday and work on finalizing all docs with that deadline in mind. At firms that understand “deal happening on Monday” to mean you also have Saturday and Sunday to work on stuff well...you’ll probably spend Saturday and Sunday working on stuff.
This is a common issue with the billable hours concept, in my experience. There is rarely a "comfortable" workflow. You're either overwhelmed during busy times or stressing about hours/lack of work during slow times. It sounds like you've only experienced the first scenario thus far.
Aside from compensation, the benefit of the law firm structure is really flexibility, which tends to increase with seniority. If I want to go watch my kid's soccer practice at 5:30 and catch up later that night, I can do that. If I don't have a pressing deadline and want to take a client out for a round of golf on a Friday afternoon, I can do that as well. You have to determine whether the billable hour "grind" is worth that trade off, and nobody should judge you harshly for that decision, at least not anybody whose opinion you should value. I doubt you would find one lawyer at any firm who hasn't thought about moving in another direction at some point.
I completely agree with that caveat and your advice. There are attorneys who practice that way, unfortunately.
I think it is harder to set boundaries at a firm than in government work. The private firm will eat you alive if you let them and no one will care that you feel overworked unless you find a way to set a boundary. Some associates love it because they want that bonus $$$. Some associates don't give AF about bonuses. I think you can clarify with the assigning partner on due dates so you better know how to prioritize assignments. Solution? Find a junior who needs billables OR (if you are the junior who is getting assignments) find a way to stop saying yes to assignments. I'd never tell the partner "no" to an assignment but I'll tell senior associates to go away if necessary.
I found saying something like “I’m juggling a few assignments at the moment, was there a certain time you needed this by?” worked pretty well, particularly with people who annoyingly wanted every single assignment to be handled ASAP, not matter when they actually needed the info. I would either get an actual deadline (eg if the partner promised to call the client back by a certain moment), or if it was actually urgent they would thank me for letting them know and go find someone else. It seemed to come across more positive than just “I can’t help you right now.”