BCG Riyadh or Bain Dubai

This is a tough one. Unless you know you will be happy in Saudi Arabia I would pick Dubai. Saudi Arabia and Dubai are both great places but personal preferences can come into play and influence your experience in both locations. Since you are fortunate enough to have both options, see what makes the most sense longer term.

And yes - do talk to people in both offices to have a true understanding of what the pros and cons are before making a decision.

Hi there,

Congratulations on the Bain and BCG offers! In terms of your question:

Q: BCG is my first choice but the geography choice between Riyadh and Dubai is making the decision harder. I would appreciate any insights you can give me on work and life in Riyadh. 

I don’t have direct insights but would recommend to contact Alumni (not current consultants) that worked in the two offices (bonus if they worked for both companies). You can use your university network, which will hopefully be responsive. You will probably learn more in a 30min call with them than with any online research you might do.

In case you opt for Bain, before going for that you can ask BCG if they might move your internship to Dubai as a last attempt. No guarantee it will work but no harm in asking at that stage (I recently coached a candidate who managed to change office with McKinsey in a different country when he said he would have declined the offer otherwise).

Best,

Francesco

Hi there,

A few thoughs here.

1. Trust your gut
2. Figure out if you value company or location more
3. Figure out what you value in a location
4. Network a bunch and ask them to give you virtual office tours, intro to consultants there etc. and ask the people there your questions!
5. Remember that this is for 8-10 weeks…you can survive anywhere for 8-10 weeks.
6. As I'm sure you know Riyadh is going to be a very different place to Dubia. Google will tell you heaps more than a Q&A :)

Hi,

Dubai has many expats in general and also caters a lot to the “expectations” of the western world. Depending on your own cultural background, it might be a safer bet (more universally compatible). On the flipside, an internship is just a limited time so it might be a good opportunity for a completely new experience with limited risk.

Disclaimer: I don't have any personal experiences with Riyadh so take the above for what it's worth.

Best of luck

Hi there, 

If you're not from Saudia Arabia originally, the cultural adaptation might be more difficult that to a place like Dubai, even while being employed by such an international firm. Dubai is a safer option since the office itself for MBB firms is super international. 

Best,

Cristian

Hi there,

I think this is an interesting question that may be relevant for many people. I would be happy to share my thoughts on it:

• When making a decision between BCG Riyadh and Bain Dubai for a summer internship, I would advise you to trust your instincts and consider your priorities. Decide whether the company or the location is more important to you and what specific aspects of the location matter to you the most.
• Moreover, to get a better understanding of the work and life in Riyadh, I would highly advise you to reach out to consultants in the city and ask for coffee chats.
• Lastly, keep in mind that this is a short-term commitment, and you will be able to adapt and make the best of the experience regardless of the location.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to address your specific situation, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Hi there,

Congratulations, well done!

As someone who lived and worked in ME, here's my thoughts:

• Dubai is generally a no regret move with virtually no risks; a well established hub for expat/local consultants
• Riyadh has its potential downsides due to its restrictive social and political regime, which can be outweighed if you have very specific benefits identified that are individual to you

If you have no ties to either location, I would go for Dubai.

Best of luck!

Moritz

Hello,

Congrats on the offers! I like Victoria's answer, and I will add 2 more anecdotal points based on spending a short time in Dubai on case work and also having quite a few individuals having to be staffed on KSA projects due to a dry pipeline

1. I saw many, many consultants (and also corporate professionals) fly in from KSA to Dubai for the weekend, and rarely the other way around
2. Getting cross office staffed on a KSA project (from another system) was often the least preferred option for many people. In my previous T2 firm they even came up with a special recognition award for consultants that had spent significant time there

I have not worked in KSA itself and the above was many years ago, so things might have changed since then - best to speak to people currently working there. 

Lastly, since internships do lead to full time offers, and if full-time location is the concern, I suggest to network and speak to people in BCG KSA and check how many consultants previously started in KSA before transferring to Dubai (ask them is this difficult to do, how long is the wait etc).

Either way, both are great firms, and in the mid-long term, at least in BCG there is always an opportunity to do a transfer. 

Hi there,

Both places are great for work and I believe equally strong options and both are growing at an incredibly fast pace.

From what I have heard, consultants in Dubai enjoy the UAE more as the KSA has only recently really started to open up more to expats and the lifestyle that surrounds it.

On the other hand: The KSA gives you a more exciting and unique experience as everyone has done the Dubai thing already, whereas in Saudi you get to experience a Dubai lifestyle from 10/15 years ago.

You can't go wrong with either choice though!

Cheers,

Florian