Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the offers!

This is indeed an interesting question which is probably relevant for quite a lot of users, so I am happy to provide my perspective on it:

• Generally speaking, I would advise you to do the following:
  • Weigh the different components that are of meaning to you, independently of the current options (e.g. prestige, culture, international exposure, compensation, location). After that, score the two options depending 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 scoring. 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).
  • This way, you will be able to integrate both your feelings and facts (and thus both brains) into the decision-making, guaranteeing a higher chance you will still be happy with it years later. In case you want a more detailed discussion on this approach, please feel free to contact me directly.
• Personally, I feel location seems to be a rather important criterion for you. As such, I would advise you to think about why you should wait 2-3 years working in another region without the possibilities to already establish your professional and personal network at your future location.

In case you want a more detailed discussion on how to best decide on your career entry, please feel free to contact me directly.

I hope this helps,

Hagen

Nicely done with the (almost) offers, congratulations!

For me personally, this is really quite simple: MBB Dubai all the way (considering only the factors you mentioned and not guessing about your personal circumstances, etc.)!

Firstly, I would challenge your statement about McKinsey (or any MBB) being “weak” in a certain geography, like Dubai for example. And it's not because I'm ex-McKinsey :)

If one MBB is less represented than others in a certain region, what's the big problem? They still do high quality work with high quality clients and consultants. Moreover, growing the footprint of an MBB is really quite exciting so the “smaller” offices are really quite interesting.

MBB will always look better on your CV than Tier 2, or anything else for that matter. Changing offices later back to Europe is not a big stretch from Dubai, either within the firm or through whatever exit opportunity. 

Lastly, you already have plenty of experience in Europe so get some Middle East under your belt. This will round your profile nicely and set you up for a great career long term!

Hi Anon,

Here, it really comes down to your personal preferences in terms of clash flow, where you see yourself 5-10 years from now geographically, etc. 

Full disclosure, I have done both MBB in the Germany/Switzerland/Austria market and MBB in Dubai.

In terms of reputation, work ethics, quality of projects etc, MBB Europe > MBB Middle East for sure. However, personally I would give MBB Dubai the edge over 2nd tier consulting in Europe financially, considering you will earn considerably more after tax (50-80%) and have a more fun and enjoyable life. 

However, if your target geography mid- to long-term is Europe, think about where you want to build your personal and professional network, etc. - in that case, I would advise you to go with 2nd tier in Europe over MBB in Middle East any day. 

Let me know if that helped :)

Best

Stephan

Hi there,

That's fantastic - congrats!

It sounds like you're debating between a single MBB offer and Tier 2? I'm confused because you're talking about McK, Bain, and BCG in the same sentence.

Ultimately, nothing beats McK in pretty much any region on prestige/brand/reputation. If your criteria is working for the most well-reknowned firm that will catapult your career, Mck is the clear choice.

If, however, you have other criteria (work-life balance, culture, geographic location, etc.) then you need to balance these! Unfortunately you have not provided us enough to go off of to provide tailored advice.

Hello!

For me is a no brainer tbh: I would go with MBB over location. 

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara

MBB brand will help you upgrade your resume. Of course, Middle East isn't great to get the kind of expertise you would need to secure a PE role, so you would need to compare with the kind of experience / industry expertise you expect to have at that Tier 2 office, and if it is in a country where a lot of PE work exists. For entrepreneurship your resume doesn't matter…. It is also easier to switch to MBB Europe after you have MBB in your resume.

Hope this helps.