Hey guys - I accepted a new position and have some time before I start. As a condition for taking time off in between, I agreed to get certified in Argus. I'd like to maximize my travel time but need to book flights, accounting for the time it will take to complete the certification.
Question - how long did it take you to become certified? Could be irrelevant but I have a strong finance background (transitioning from equity research, have CFA, etc).
I searched extensively on this topic and I found one post saying it took a guy 50 hours but that's it.
Do you have experience with Argus Enterprise or Argus DCF?
It took me about two weeks of studying 1-2 hours every day, but I had exp. with both programs all ready. I couldn't say how long if you have zero exp with the program, It may take some time just to understand how the program works and where everything is.
The exam is two parts, about 50-75 MC and a case study. For the MC; If you can answer all of the questions in the back of the book you should be fine. You can obviously reference the book during the test but to save time that is sub-optimal
Second part, the case study, is where having no exp in the program is really going to bite you.
My recommendation is to go through the certification book from page 0 to the end. Don't take the case study until you can go through them 100% without a mistake because the retakes cost money.
I can answer questions if you have any..
Much appreciated my man. Zero Argus experience. So we'll say an average of 1.5 hours a day x 14 days is 21 hours, then toss in maybe an extra 6 hours or so getting caught up to speed so maybe plan between 25-30 hours? Not as bad as I was expecting so that's really good news.
Once I get going I may take you up on that offer and PM you with questions.
What do you think of Argus software?
Great - good - good enough - bad - shit
Would you mind sharing any training materials you have? I am a new analyst at a company that is just starting to use Argus, I would appreciate any resources (case studies). Thanks!
50 hours is wayyyyy too much. I'd probably say if you work your way through the self-study material (You could hammer this out in a weekend) you'll be 70% of the way there. Probably study for a hour or two for a week and you'll be good. I thought the multiple choice questions were way trickier than the case study. Definitely don't stress about it. It really isn't a huge deal.
I have the Argus Enterprise certification and it was surprisingly quick and easy. You can have enterprise open during the exam so it’s very easy to check your answers as you go. I knocked out all the studying and the exam in 2 full days, about 15-20 hours total. I had Argus DCF experience already but had never used Enterprise prior to studying.
Great to hear, you guys just added two more days of getting weird in Bali for papa bear
Does anyone have some of the study materials and want to help a monkey out?
go through the cert book page by page. be prepared for exam by having all materials out and organized. dont stress about it, just put in the time and you will be fine.
Learning Argus is easy. The test can be a bitch though.
Not sure how AE's test works, but DCF's was pretty detached from how you actually use the program.
Is the industry standard moving towards Enterprise or does everyone still use DCF? Would it be worth it as someone looking to recruit into acquisitions to pursue an online certification model? I'm working at an asset management firm in their real estate investment / transactions team but we don't use Argus right now
enterprise. I heard argus doesnt do dcf updates anymore
I literally just went through the AE Cert program. There are 8 learning modules, a practice test and a real test. The real test includes a case study, the practice does not. The real test includes a handful of aspects not covered on the practice test (mostly purchase/sale/debt assumptions).
I became certified in between jobs, so I had all day open. Before taking the test I had zero ARGUS experience. The entire process took me 5 days, and I passed the test on the first try. I usually did my own thing in the morning, worked out, grabbed lunch, ran a few errands, w/e, then started studying around 2 pm and ended around 10 pm - midnight, but took many and decently long breaks. I watched the videos in the eLearning modules (record them, after you go through a module it disappears and you can never get the info back), took very detailed notes (basically transcribed the video), recorded myself doing the case study, then moved on to the next module. I took the practice test twice, wrote down every question and answer to build a database for the real test. After taking the practice test twice and passing, I decided to take the real one.
There's a section with 50(?) MC questions which are based on the videos and eLearning book (which i never looked at), then a case study that incorporates everything included in the modules plus some (read my note above), and 15 MC questions based on the results of your case study. You have to get 70%+ on both sections to become certified.
Lemme know if you have questions.
to clarify, I studied monday-thursday and took the test friday. I probably studied a total of 6 hours a day (like i said, many/long breaks during my 2-10 study sesh)
OK so about 30 hours. Confirms my earlier estimate. Thank you, good sir!
Do they provide you with the software as part of the AE Cert program or do you need separate access to it?
If you get the bundle they do.
Hi there, I am wondering which package u chose? the classroom training one, the Certification Bundle plus 1 Year Subscription Bundle one, or the Certification Bundle plus 1 Year Subscription Bundle? Are there any big differences among these packages? Much appreciated your help!
any way I could get ahold of the database you put all the questions in?
I realize that you're getting the certification because your employer stipulated it given your specific situation, but as a disclaimer to others on this board, it's a complete waste of time from my perspective. I've had a ton of people come onboard that have gotten the certification, and they didn't know what they were doing with the software / valuations. It's a good thing to do if you're trying to get your foot in the door as an undergraduate, but realistically if you have 1 week on the job you'll be far more knowledgeable in that software than someone who even studies that coursework for a month or two. If you're an experienced professional who understands finance and excel, I wouldn't waste your time as you can learn the software on the job.
From a pure value standpoint I’d agree. I’d also say 95% of the CFA is a huge waste of time as well.
However, like the CFA, it’s about signaling. As someone who is transitioning from a different industry (although very similar skill set) Argus experience seems to be a big question mark on my resume. Could be different for a student applying for an entry level gig but a few years out it seems like it’s well worth the $1,100, especially if the alternative is 200k for business school to rebrand. Could just be my specific experiences but those that I’ve interviewed with told me it’d be in my best interest to do it. That being said I ended up fine without it so who knows... just my two cents
Yeah agreed.
I completely agree that it won't teach you much. If you master everything the certification course teaches you, you will go from being a novice to an advanced beginner.
However, people still care whether or not you're ARGUS certified despite this fact.
Your comments are valid, but in my experience, someone who cares about the Argus certification when hiring has usually a) never used the software themselves or b) has never been very hands on with the hiring process for analyst/associate level roles. As to the comment about signaling, I think this is market specific. It's sort of like the CCIM/SIOR designations. In some markets, it's a sign of pedigree, while in other markets I've heard some people say that they think it detracts from someone's credibility because they felt they needed to get that designation to be taken seriously (especially junior professionals). Again, we could debate the merits or lack thereof of all of the above 'til the cows come home, but that's been my observation.
Personally, I'm finding more and more jobs using the certification as a quick check-mark. My boss recently posted a job opening, and even though we dont use ARGUS, he added it as a requirement to weed out all the non-real estate people who inevitably apply for these positions.
I got my certification in 3 days (8 hours of studying per day) - its pretty straight forward if you have decent real estate knowledge - and if you dont, its a great way to get introduced to a lot of details like how recoveries work, % rent etc.
How'd you manage this transition? Can I PM you?
Sure feel free. Come from buyside ER but even from sell side it would have been similar. Modeling and general valuation skills are very transferable and the CFA is even more rare among the real estate crowd so that was a surprisingly big plus. Big thing was convincing why real estate and that I could work in a deal/project oriented environment vs sitting and reading for 12 hours a day.
If not in real estate already I think the Argus cert would be good to help with why real estate. To be honest I got pretty lucky with how things played out so maybe worth a second opinion on this one.
First, great discussion here. I was going to ask the board but found this going and it has been helpful. Been having an internal debate on whether to fork over the money. Tried to switch into more of an asset management/portfolio role for a while. Had solid RE (audit) background on top of Big 4 TAS, but I think lack of ARGUS was hurting. Now in B-School, still feeling that way. Everyone says it is a tool and the company should pay for the user of the tool, but not sure. Feels like people don't want to pay for down time and teaching.
Again thanks for posting. If it only takes like 50 hours, might be worth it.
I just took the certification exam so allow me to provide a little bit of insight:
It was 90 MC questions; 15 of which are derived from the case study. The case study itself doesn't take very long to complete, but in my opinion it was MUCH harder than the case studies in the manual because there were a fair amount of curveballs thrown in that I felt the book absolutely did not cover so unless you had prior experience in Enterprise, DCF, etc or you REALLY know what you're doing then it truly screws you over because one simple mistake alters the rest of your model which in turn means you miss the ensuing questions on the exam.
The 75 MC questions that preceded the case study weren't particularly easy either. I had a second computer with me looking up the questions online whether it was "Ctrl + F" on the online version of the manual or simply searching the questions via Google.
Unfortunately, I didn't pass. I got a 67% on both sections, and you need at least 70% on both sections, so I'm obviously frustrated.
I didn't log my study hours, but I spent probably 5-6 weekends (1 of the 2 days) of ~5-8 hours per day studying for it (not consecutive weeks either due to not having available time/travel), coupled in with random week days of 1-2 hours after work. So while I probably in total logged about 50 hours of studying, it was over the course of the 90 days since I signed up for the exam (you have a three month window to take it after enrolling).
To be completely honest, I think the main reason I failed was because I focused too much on learning/memorizing what inputs go where, rather than why they go there and how it impacts the rest of the model. Towards the end of my studying I was able to correct my mistakes I made, but I felt that I still didn't TRULY understand what I was doing/why, and that's in large part due to the fact that I had absolutely zero experience with the program to start with. Had I had prior experience with Enterprise, I obviously would have been much better off, but even for the average business school-educated monkey, the test is no walk in the park and AE does take tons of repetition to master and without prior work experience, you are absolutely at a disadvantage.
Hope I was able to provide a little bit of clarity with this post. I'm ultimately bummed out because I didn't pass and was so close, but I did the best I could (given the circumstances) and will not be attempting to re-take the exam until I one day (hopefully) get the proper work experience. Kudos to the people who were in the same boat as me and had no prior experience heading in and were ultimately able to pass, but I think that the manual itself isn't sufficient enough preparation for the exam. Understanding the true nuts-and-bolts of Argus (which only comes through consistently being the program) is how you pass and understand what you're doing.
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