Hi everyone,
I have an offer from Accenture Strategy Middle East in Riyadh as Strategy Consultant and from Roland Berger Milan as Senior Consultant. Which one is better?
Obviously the compensation is much higher in Middle East.
Please answer only if you really know these two firms/offices. Trying to avoid generic or AI answers.
Thanks!
Hi there
Answer coming from someone who worked for Bain Middle East, knows Roland Berger and Accenture quite well and has been exposed to the European market.
First of all - CONGRATULATIONS on two offers! You're in a great place to choose.
I think at the end of the day you need to prioritize what ever you're solving for.
Salary: Middle East would win (and of course no taxes)
Lifestyle: Milan vs Riyadh (extremely different, KSA will have conveniences but Milan has proximity to the rest of Europe and of course the European lifestyle)
Type of work: Accenture is typically more technology focused, even as a strategy consultant, Roland Berger is more Management consulting - there are two different types of work. It would be helpful to know more about the role's that you landed in each.
Client base: If you're based in Riyadh, you typically will have most of your clients in Riyadh so maybe minimizing some travel (since most consultants around the GCC travel to Riyadh mainly for clients). In Milan, you can expect more traditional consulting travel.
Happy to have a quick call and chat further if helpful:) Congrats again!
Annika
Ciao,
First of all, congratulations.
I found myself facing a very similar choice at a different stage of my career.
I was at Bain and had already signed an internal transfer to Dubai with a pretty clear path toward partnership. I had already been working in the GCC for quite some time. In the end, I decided to take a completely different professional path and stay in Milan.
I’m saying this because, in my opinion, these decisions are extremely personal. There is no objectively “better” choice between Accenture Middle East and Roland Berger Milan.
It really depends on:
Happy to discuss it more in detail — feel free to DM me and I can share more openly how I thought about this kind of decision.
I don’t have direct experience with either Accenture Strategy or Roland Berger, but I’ll give you one perspective that I think is important: you are still relatively early in your career, optimizing purely for the short term is never the best decision, neither financially in the long run nor from a lifestyle perspective.
I think the key questions are:
--> Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
--> Do you want to build an international career or eventually settle back in Italy (I’m assuming you’re Italian)?
--> Do you see yourself staying in consulting long term, or would you eventually want to exit into industry, entrepreneurship, investing, etc.?
Those questions should probably guide your decision more than the immediate differences.
The Middle East can definitely accelerate savings and international exposure. On the other hand, Roland Berger may offer a different network and positioning if your long-term future is tied to consulting, especially in Europe.
Hope this helps,
Franco
hi!
Roland Berger Milan as Senior Consultant gives you stronger strategy pedigree, real project ownership, and a clearer path to classic consulting exits in Europe. Accenture Strategy Riyadh pays far more, but the work is broader, more implementation‑heavy, and heavily tied to Saudi public‑sector programs; great money, but less “pure strategy” and less portable if you want to move back to Europe later. If your priority is career brand + long‑term Europe options, RB Milan is better. If your priority is compensation + fast responsibility, Accenture Strategy ME wins. It really depends on whether you want brand and exits or pay and speed.
Alessa
These are different jobs with different career paths. The pay gap is real but it's not the whole story.
Accenture Strategy Riyadh. Strong pay, often 40 to 70 percent above European Tier 2. Big exposure to Vision 2030 and giga-projects. Career can accelerate fast. But the brand sits below Roland Berger for pure strategy, and exits are mostly into Saudi corporates and PIF companies. Lifestyle is intense.
Roland Berger Milan. Respected European strategy brand, especially in industrials and PE. Senior Consultant title signals real tenure. Cleaner career arc across Europe and easier to lateral to MBB later. Pay is significantly lower.
If you want a European career, take Roland Berger. If pay matters most right now and you're open to regional work, take Accenture Riyadh.
Talk to current consultants at both offices before deciding.
Good luck.
I know people from both firms but it would be impossible to compare at the macro level.
Esp since you're effectively choosing between two significantly different regions.
If I were you, I'd have 2-3 calls with consultants from each office who are at a similar level of seniority as the one that you'd be going for. Get a sense of how they see the office and the work that they do and that should inform your decision more than any external perspective we might offer here.
Congrats on the offers, btw!
Cristian
