Visa's where you go to retire...when you're ready to mail it in and spend the rest of your career brown nosing your way up the corporate ladder. Be prepared to swallow your pride. Worked hard for the last 5 or 10yrs did you? Guess what? Nobody cares! Visa's a place of the have and the have nots. I've known Directors with 20yrs of experience never get over the hump and Analysts with less than 4yrs of experience promoted to Sr. Director in 3yrs. Come on now...this ain't no startup!
It all comes down to being in a politically favored group or being in the good graces of the politically favored. If you're thinking about joining, it's best to figure those things out first or you'll spend the next few years scratching and clawing your way into another group. Of course, feel free to ignore the above disclaimer if you're coming here for the Desi hookup.
Also, don't go thinking Visa's a tech company. Opening an innovation center in downtown SF is like putting lipstick on a pig. Product dev here is completely inept. CEO came from JPM...should give you a hint about the direction the company wants to take.