Life as a Consultant

McKinsey engagements vary in duration and typically last 1 to 6 months, so each new project is another opportunity to address real challenges with our clients, collaborate with colleagues, and learn new skills. Our offices also organise regular social events, from Thursday evening drinks and sports gatherings to sailing trips and community efforts—and our annual Inspire event brings together all our consultants in the Middle East with leading thinkers from around the world.

The variety of projects and the breadth of opportunities mean that our consultants often take varied paths in their careers at McKinsey—and beyond. Each year, McKinsey is involved in thousands of projects in 60 or more countries. Based on their experiences, our consultants usually focus on a specific function or industry that interests them.

You can read more about career pathways on our global site.

McKinsey has eight offices in the Middle East and more than 120 worldwide. Through client work, training programs abroad, and office exchanges and transfers, our consultants have plenty of opportunities to explore the region and see the world. Last year, consultants from our Middle East offices worked in almost 60 countries on six continents.

Which engagements you work on depends on your interests, development needs, and project availability. On an engagement, the first thing we do is bring together the people with the best skills and experience to help solve the client’s problem. Our global intranet shows new engagements, and our staffing coordinator helps consultants find projects that best fit their needs and interests.

We are committed to helping you make your mark wherever you work, with both clients and colleagues. Our intranet provides tools distilled from work your colleagues have done in similar areas and access to an extensive team of experts in all key sectors and functions.

McKinsey is a highly diverse organization. Our consultants in the Middle East are drawn from dozens of nationalities and have an incredible range of knowledge, backgrounds, and life experience. We support flexible working arrangements, and some consultants work on part-time programs, providing space for family or pro bono commitments.

You can learn more about diversity and inclusion on our global site.

Our Take Time program allows consultants to take time off between engagements to pursue personal interests and passions including travel and further study—for example, one consultant took 5 weeks off to study Arabic in Amman, Jordan, living with a local host family.

You can learn more about how meaningful our “Take Time” program is to our people by watching and reading their personal stories on our global site.