Indian Student Targeting UAE/Qatar Finance Jobs After Imperial MSc (2025) - Need Advice!

I'm an Indian student who will be attending the MSc Finance program at Imperial College Business School in London, with the goal of starting my career in the UAE or Qatar upon graduating in 2025.

  • Do companies in these regions hire international students for entry-level finance roles?
  • How can I start preparing now to make myself a strong candidate?
  • Are there specific resources I should utilize for job searching and networking?

Any insights from those who've made a similar transition would be incredibly helpful. Thank you!

 
Most Helpful

Hey - I am an international in the region (UAE), working in finance. Please see some of my experience below:

Don’t think Qatar is too relevant, only QIA has a presence there, so I would definitely aim for UAE/Saudi.

1. Yes but slightly differently compared to UK/US. Most firms do not offer summer internships, only off-cycles (6 months generally). Conversion to FT from these are far lower than UK summers (don’t have data but I would put the conversion rate at 40-50% across firms based on what I have heard/seen). Most entry-level (analyst) roles are filled through these internship, so direct FT opportunities are limited (not impossible though). 

2. Generally these are similar to mainland Europe internships so most candidates have multiple internships before, even sometimes FT, I have not seen many people doing an off cycle here as their first even IB/PE internship. Networking is also somewhat important, not as badly as in the US but for more important than in the UK. 

3. I would probably just reach out to people on linked in or cold email them.

 

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