London big 4 strategy consulting or Dubai mbb

Question

Hi all,

I'm trying to decide between offers and would appreciate your thoughts. Many thanks!

Brief background: major Asian country citizen, US undergrad, current London masters

Offers: London EY-Parthenon or Dubai BCG (both entry-level generalist role)

Main considerations:

1. Exit opportunities/international mobility(might do a MBA in 5 years; not sure about next step, but not long-term consulting, might want to explore PE/corporate strat; also might consider go back to Asia or go to US again long-term)

2. Project experience (transferable skill set, client exposure, public vs. private sector)

3. Visa (?) (need work sponsorship in most places in the world, so London experience would be useful later)

No preference:

1. Salary (although it's a big difference but I don't have student loans or anything so would be savings for later, wouldn't be a huge factor for living standards)

2. Brand name (ofc I understand the network effect of a bigger firm, but don't see that much a difference at junior level)

3. Lifestyle (could handle travel and long hours, neither hate or love the weather in both places; no personal ties to both places although do have lots of friends staying in London for work)

Answer 1

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the offers!

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your question:

I would highly advise you to opt for the option that better aligns with your professional (and maybe even personal) mid- to long-term goals. In order to make an informed decision, I would advise you to do the following:

Weigh the different criteria that are meaningful to you independently of the current options (e.g., prestige, culture, international exposure, compensation, location). After that, score the two options based on your criteria and their weighting, resulting in two scores. This way, you have covered the left-brain perspective.
Critically assess your initial reaction to the outcome of the scores. For instance, if you feel the urge to tweak the numbers, this is a solid indicator that you do not want this decision to become reality. This way, you have covered the right-brain perspective.
By doing so, you will be able to integrate both parts of the brain into the decision-making, guaranteeing a higher chance that you will still be happy with it years later.

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

Answer 2

Hi,

I would definitely choose BCG Dubai over EYP London as well.

- The exit option and the experience/skills you can build within a MBB firm would be far better.

- No need to worry so much about Visa and London experience might not be as useful as you think (I was holding an Asian country passport that requires Visa all the time until I changed my passport 5 years ago, but enough Visa experiences). Mot of the cases when you join a top tier global company, the company would take care of your Visa / work permit.

- I think it would be much easier to ask for internal transfer from BCG Dubai to BCG London 2 years later (as long as you perform well), comapred to moving from EYP London to MBB London

Anyway, congrats for your offers. It is a good problem to have to decide between offers!

Best,

Emily

Answer 3

Hello,

I would choose BCG Dubai without any doubt. In terms of exit opportunities and international mobility, an experience in a MBB is far better. More over, the projects that you would work on in BCG are not comparable to the ones of EY in terms of client exposure, strategical focus and professional growth.

The only side effect could be that working in Dubai you will probably work with public sector, but take into account that "public sector" in ME is like a big european multinational.

Hope it helps,
Luca

Answer 4

Hi,
congratulations for the offers! I find exit options and experience far more important than the visa aspect at this stage of your career. In both points, in my opinion, BCG Dubai wins with no discussion.

Best,
Antonello

Answer 5

Hi,

Many factors to consider:

- Exit opportunities, MBB has generally better exit opportunities, however after working a number of years in Dubai you might be specialising within the region and going back to Europe / USA might be not that simple. With that being said, Strategy &, Monitor Deloitte and EY Parthenon are very prestigious in London and you'll probably be exposed to more PE work, so if you're end goal is PE, keep this in mind

- Remunaration, Dubai is tax free, something to keep in mind

- Lifestyle, London and Dubai are incredibly different, this very much depends on you

Hope it helps!
Marco

Answer 6

Hello!

Congrats!

I would take BCG Dubai without any doubts. To your main considerations

1. Exit opportunities/international mobility & MBA: BCG is a no brainer in terms of alumni network, brand, etc.

2. Project experience: Dubai will be more focused on PS than other offices, but not exclusively.

3. Visa: on this part I can´t help you.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

Answer 7

Hello Anonymous,

I was wondering which of the two options you ended up going with? My reason for asking is that I am currently living in Dubai and I am having trouble finding a coach living in the UAE.

Therefore, I was wondering, if you do live in Dubai now is there anyway that I could meet you for some tips / advice / coaching? I would be happy to pay for your time and any help at all would be greatly appreciated.

Best of luck with the desicion!

Maria-Pia

Answer 8

Hello! I am having the exact same situation with you now (even background info haha), maybe I ask which did you choose in the end and whether or not you are happy about this decision? Thank you!!

Answer 9

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Answer 11

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