MBB ME with no travel vs Tier 2 vs IB top BB London

Hi all,

I have the following FT offers on my hands and cannot decide between them:
-MBB in the middle east (not Dubai) in an office that doesn't travel
-IB top BB in London in my preferred group

My preference was for consulting initially, because of the better WLB and better comp in the ME but the lack of travel is making me question that preference since it was one of the main aspects I was looking forward to.

Given the above, I'm now considering applying to other consulting firms in the region which means I might eventually refuse an MBB offer for a tier 2.

My question is, does it sound stupid to refuse an MBB offer just because of the travel aspect?

Thanks.

 

Not sure why you prefer the travel aspect - it's tiring and just kills hours. I think most consultants would avoid it if they could. Maybe there's a way to lateral to travel friendly parts of the business or onto travel friendly projects. Which part of the ME doesn't travel or are you joining a DD practice?

 
Most Helpful

Curious which office is this that has no travel (assume Riyadh since a significant majority of MBB's work is based in Saudi).. Echo the comment above that travel is tiring and not the most ideal work setup (a lot of time lost commuting, client sites are usually a disaster, having to finish deliverables after spending 3-hour team dinners at fancy restaurants).
As someone who has been at MBB Dubai for close to a year now, I can shed light on a few of your questions:
- WLB is probably the worst globally but will still be better than IB on average. That being said the culture is absolutely amazing, with true cultural diversity and tight-knit junior cohorts

- I would definitely not pick a Tier 2 over MBB because despite they pay slightly higher (10-20% more), still the reality is their branding is inferior

- Project types are very different: they are much longer on average (4-6 months) and usually heavy tilt toward public sector/state-owned enterprises

For us to share a more informed answer, you need to answer three questions:

1. Are you from the region or do you plan on being here for the mid-to-long term?

2. What are your long term aspirations (e.g., operate a startup, go into public policy, become an investor, etc.)?

3. What is your preferred group/industry that you got in at the BB? (for us to assess whether opportunities in this field exist in the ME Consulting ecosystem)

Hope this helps, feel free to DM as well.

 

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