what's it like to work in MBB consulting in Dubai?

Question

I have been interested in going over there for MBB consulting, I have a good chance through multiple sources. But just to be acquainted with what I should expect, I'd like to know what kind of deals associates (the entry level position) work on, how often associates travel and where they go most frequently, and whether or not I should learn Arabic. Thanks a lot.

Answer 1

Hi Vlad,

That's a great question. I have been working at Bain and Company in the Middle East for the past 4 years, and have had the chance to interact with other Bainees from across the globe. I would say these are the key characteristics of working from Dubai:

Projects:
- Project mix is more heavily focused on public sector given the nature of the GCC region and that the government is heavily involved in all sectors (e.g. O&G, Education, Culture, Finance)
Languages:
- Speaking from experience half of the MBB offices include foreigners who do not speak Arabic
- Arabic is not a requirement on most projects as analysis and slides are usually presented in English
- Most projects tend to have just one Arabic speaker as a precaution in order to manage potential translation work involving client data received
Locations:
- Pre-COVID, the majority of projects were spread across the GCC (e.g. UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman) with some occasional projects in North Africa (e.g. Egypt and Jordan)
- Typical frequency of travel was on a weekly basis where consultants fly into the GCC country (e.g. Saudi Arabia from Dubai) on a Sunday morning and fly back on a Wednesday evening
- During COVID, most employees are now working remotely typically out of Dubai with no travel

Please let me know if you have any further clarifications. Hope this was helpful.

Answer 2

Hi,

Projects - it reflects the economical and political situation: Public sector, oil and gas
Travel - mostly within the region, Saudi Arabia, other Emirates, etc. In companies with global staffing (i.e. McKinsey) - you'll have an option of global staffing for some projects
Arabic is not required

Everything else is the same as other offices

Best

Answer 3

Hello!

Some thoughts to your questions:

Sectors: it´s a generlization, but you will find a lot of O&G and Public Policy compared to other offices (vs. Europe for instance)
Travel: Yes, a lot. In MBB in general, and ME even more. Mostly, Monday-Thursday -but when you work on Sundays, that everything moves one day, in Emirates for instance-.
Arabic: not as a must, but as a nice to have

However, perhaps the easiest is precisely to ask those questions to those contacts you seem to have there. Talking to someone same tenure and/or same level would be ideal for the insights.

Best regards,

Clara

Answer 4

Hi there

The required competence and methodology are the same as in Europe. In Dubai work is more specified in such spheres as:

Government / Public Sector
Oil & Gas
Infrastructure
Banking/Finance

As I know, you don`t need to learn Arabic, however, you can contact the HR manager to clarify this.

Due to the corona time, it is difficult to predict how often and where you will travel.

The interview process is going to be very similar - FIT part, motivational and behavioral questions, case solving.

Basically, you do not have to prepare for something special. Prepare for regular round interviews.

Was it helpful?
GB

Answer 5

Hi Gabrielle,

In terms of industries, you'll have much more emphasis on:

Government / Public Sector
Oil & Gas
Other Energy
Public works/infrastructure/construction
Banking/Finance

Travel will very much be regional (i.e. Middle East) and most likely to places like Saudi Arabia. Learning Arabic is not required at all, but could be interesting to pick up while you're there!

I have found the following articles/reports quite useful in the past:

https://www.strategyand.pwc.com/m1/en/foresight-management-consultants/international-strategy-consulting.html

http://www.infomineo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/benchmarking-key-strategy-consultings-firms-middle-east-2016.pdf

https://www.consultancy-me.com/consulting-industry

Here are some excellent prior Q&As on Dubai for your reference as well:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/consulting-in-qatar-vs-dubai-6978

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/main-differences-between-dubai-and-doha-offices-6182

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/strategy-dubai-onboarding-salary-8571

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/advantages-of-consulting-in-dubai-compared-to-europe-differences-in-the-type-of-projects-8675

Answer 6

Hi, I confirm Arabic is not mandatory, there is a large group of international colleagues. However, it is of course a plus.

Best,
Antonello