Strategy& London Vs BCG Dubai

Hi,

It really depends on how fast you want to reach your end goal and how important is location.

In PwC London I think Strategy& and the deals team are combined that is why the project portfolio is what you are mentioned and also the compensation gap.

My personal suggestion would be to take BCG do a good job 1-2 years and ask for a transfer to London after that while also network with the PE Practice Area in London office. Reason being better brand and better money.

Best,
Iman

Hi there,

Congratulations on your offers.

The main advantage I see in S& is it may help to reach PE faster, which is one of your goals.

Have you checked where people exit after working there (you should be able to find out relatively quickly on LinkedIn)? If you don’t see a strong connection between S& and the PE funds you want compared to BCG, I would go for BCG – the MBB stamp is really useful for everything you will have to do in your career.

Best,

Francesco

Hey, based on the criteria you have listed, S& sounds like it from my perspective.

When it comes to job choices, I always advice people to choose that which is a better fit to your values, career aspirations & risk apetitie. Choose that which will allow you to do what you really want to do. Rest (success, money etc) will follow if you make the right moves. Too often people end up in firms for all the wrong reasons (peer pressure, $, impatience etc)

As with every situation/event/choice in life, nothing will be perfect. Be mindful of this and work accordingly. Regardless of which job you take, there will be ups and downs and you cannot make that perfect choice as there will always be something a little better. So remove this pressure.

All the best! And congrats for having these options in otherwise crazy COVID times. Well done for that :)

Congratulations! Both are fantastic options but frankly neither are ideal if you are optimising for a PE exit (presumbably in London) although I appreciate there are many funds out there if you are not picky. With both options, you may need to move to an MBB role in London (e.g., BCG London PIPE) as recruiting is super competitive and heavily based on branding. If moving within consulting is outside your consideration then I would go for S& as you will have no chance getting a PE role with no DD/deal experience.

Hi,

It really depends on your objective. If you want to transition to PE, Strategy& seems like a better option. However, I would monitor the PE industry in the UK. With Brexit, I believe it'll shrink pretty soon.

BCG is a better brand, and taking into account the difference in taxes and exchange rates, your comp in Dubai will be much higher and growth will be faster

Best

Hi!

During my career in Consultancy, I have focused mainly on DD and Growth Strategy work. This is extremely demanding, but also extremely rewarding (in terms of learning and doing real "strategic" work).

I had colleagues that have done a lot of Public Sector work in KSA, that is also extremely demanding. However, not as rewarding as the DD/Growth Strategy work. 

Given your criteria to potentially move to PE, I would chose for the "short term - ~2year" investment in yourself (rather than cashing the salary that is 2x so high), therefore opt for the Strategy& London M&A work.

Feel free to reach out to me via personal message if you have questions on the exact work. 

Best,
Sadik

Hi there,

Let's cut out the noise...

1) You want a PE exit - leans S&

2) You want to stay in London - leans BCG

You need to decide what matters more to you...London or PE?

That being said, I want to clarify 2 things:

• Even though BCG london pay is 2x, remember that, once you account for cost of living AND 0% income taxes in Dubai, this should mostly even out
• Just because BCG is known for public sector work, does not mean you can't work your way into DD/PE projects...

Hi there,

congratulations on your offers! Both sound very exciting and you're lucky you have to choose from the best!

I think answering these questions can help you make a decision:

• What's your priority at the moment?
• What are you looking for in a job? 
• Can you take some risk or you're more a cautious person?

Whatever is your choice, it's never a mistake.

Best,

GB

Hello!

Big congrats!

Without the need to reading any of the bullet points you wrote, with my eyes closed, BCG. 

Tier 1 vs. Tier 2, nothing else to comment :) 

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

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 choose the option that better aligns with your professional (and perhaps even personal) mid- to long-term goals. To make an informed decision, I would advise you to do the following:
  • Weigh the various criteria that are important to you independently of the current options (e.g., exit opportunities, culture, location, compensation). Then score the two options based on your criteria and their weightings, resulting in two scores. This way, you have covered the left-brain perspective.
  • Critically evaluate your initial reaction to the results of the scores. For example, if you feel the urge to tweak the numbers, this is a good indicator that you do not want to make this decision. This way, you have covered the right-brain perspective.
  • This way, you will be able to integrate both parts of your brain into the decision, which will increase the chances that you will be happy with it years from now.

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

Best,

Hagen

The Deals team at S& (M&A Strategy) is pretty well established in the UK PE space and exiting to an investment role at a fund is well established, if that's your ambition.

Also naturally being in London will align to what you said you were looking for long-term, and regardless you'll probably have more geographic flexibility being in London vs Dubai.

Now counterargument to that is course BCG pay in Dubai will be tax free and the brand step-up.

Overall, sounds like S& would be the best fit to your ambitions. Feel free to PM me if you want more insight into S& London

Hi, I am currently in a similar situation and am curious as to your final decision on this matter. Are you happy with your decision? 

Thanks!