Hi guys,
I know that this is a topic that has been discussed frequently; however, I feel that my question is slightly different. I work for a mortgage banking (debt brokerage) firm that utilizes only excel for our underwriting. We essentially have a template for each asset type and we simply just plug and chug through these.
I plan on looking for a new opportunity whether it be at another (larger) brokerage, CMBS origination, large BS lender within the next year. My excel skills are quite good, but many firms are looking for candidates with ARGUS experience.
My questions are as follows:
1.) should I obtain an ARGUS certification (via e-learning) prior to applying for future positions? I have friends who have gotten new jobs within the CRE industry and had ARGUS training provides for them. Personally, I think I should get the certification ASAP.
2.) should I go for the AE or DCF certification? I have seen this question asked on other threads, but never saw what I thought was a concrete argument for either one.
Any help is sincerely appreciated guys.
Interested in this as well.
Just started as analyst in Corporate RE. We don't use Argus. I think we use Yardi though but not sure the use in that.
I plan to try landing a more investment role in future so would want to get certified.
Argus stopped selling new subscriptions to DCF on Dec 31, 2015 and will stop supporting the product as of June 30, 2017 (they are forcing everyone over to AE). They also stopped all public training on DCF (only available through private sessions).
However, you are looking for a job at a firm that is focused on larger deals. Most, if not all of those firms have used DCF for the better part of 2 decades and have yet to switch to AE (DCF 15 was released in 2011. DCF 16 was released as part of AE 9.5 in 2013. ARGUS is now up to AE 11.0, so two major releases plus a bunch of interim releases to fix bugs). Additionally, several of those large institutions are going to own perpetual licenses and have customized/integrated DCF into other software suites so changing from DCF to AE isn't as simple as just replacing one software with another - It takes time, costs money and is a huge IT project they don't want to do.
All this is to say that I would still do DCF if you can find a class. DCF is the Windows XP of the CRE world. It is ubiquitous, stable and it isn't going anywhere for a while.
Thank you very much, that is incredibly helpful. I'll go with the DCF e-learning class, which is available through their website.
I really appreciate the feedback, just trying to pad my stats before sending out app's.
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