EYP MENA (small office) - worth it?
Just got an offer to join a small EYP office in MENA. Same team across the region (e.g. had an interview with Dubai), very similar exposure (or so I've been told).
Pay isn't great but it's EYP and the exposure is quite good. Given the very strong regional exposure (zero projects are done in the domestic office base), I presume it's still worth it.
For context- currently work a sales job in London where there's upward potential but exposure is nothing like consulting. Still have seen some from my firm go on to top MBAs but it's just not a job for me so I don't even see myself doing well enough to land an MBA in a top school from this.
Bump
What role is this and which country is it in? MENA is very broad, Dubai is very different from Egypt
EYP is building a new office in the region basically reporting to UAE HQ and working on the same projects (hyper Saudi focused).
It should be the same exposure as the Dubai office but I'm worried of the possibility that the physical base of the office being in a smaller economy would mean that the experience is perceived on the international (EU/DXB) corporate market as being not as "elite".
For context, I'm looking at corp dev as a potential long term goal.
Pay is (significantly) less than Dubai but just want to ensure that exits should be similarly decent.
Position is Associate II. Strat consulting.
why people go to this shithole is beyond comprehension
You will be staffed within mixed UAE / Qatari teams (assuming its a Q office) and your experience will be viewed as exactly same within the consulting industry. Finding an industry exit to UAE might be more difficult due to networking limitations and lesser visibility on Linkedin to recruiters (they filter for UAE) but not by a significant margin.
On the other hand, I would never join a non-UAE office to be staffed on KSA projects. Its a shitty setup and knowing that I am making less money than my colleagues while living in an even worse place would make it an unsustainable situation.
EYP in MENA in general has been on an upward trajectory ever since it has been reset ~2.5 years ago. Carve out of EYP (+EY Consulting) out of EY by the end of 2023 is also something that might potentially be a very positive development.
For further context, EYP recently opened an office in an emerging MENA market (not Qatar/UAE). Projects are mostly KSA. Got recruited as an Associate 2.
Other options on the table at the moment for me in EU/UK (where I’m currently based) are not comparable to EYP.
Lower pay for the EYP office I’m offered for may be compensated by living with family, though by far the main issue for me is lifestyle.
Since it’s the same MENA team, I’m thinking of pushing hard in output and networking to drive an office change in a year or two.
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