Are there any relevant certifications/designations worth getting other than MBA/Masters? CFA, CAIA, certificate programs, etc.
I am hoping to get some discussion going on designations that one can work on that may help advance their career. Here are some of my thoughts & questions:
If you come from a non-target/zero pedigree, is it worth doing a certificate program? IE, UCLA extension, NYU certificate program, eCornell, etc Obviously does not compare to actually attending the masters program in full but looking for thoughts here.
CFA or CAIA- I haven't seen too many of these but am curious on the consensus here. CFA does not seem super relevant for RE. What about CAIA?
Argus Cert, LEED Cert, and other designations. Are they a waste of time?
Basically, is there anything worth doing other than networking & going for a masters or MBA in order to further advance your career?
CCIM
It depends on what your career is. Certain paths may value something, such as the CCIM above, far more than others.
Certified Public Accountant ("CPA")
CFA is no joke. Highly respected imo.
I would advise against a certification from a place like UCLA extension, however if there are certain areas of study in which you don't already have much knowledge in but you want to learn more about, extension classes can be beneficial.
Took an Argus class through UCLA extension and it was pretty beneficial to get familiar with the program & network.
As others have said it all depends upon what you want to do. From what I've heard:
Broker:CCIM/SIOR (if you qualify)
Development: Much harder to nail down certs here because a wide variety of people are in the field. You might have accountants, architects, project managers, etc. It seems like at the smaller shops people have 1-2 things they are really good at, and tend to be generalists in other areas.
financial analyst: Argus (from what I've read do this if you can get a discount do not pay 1500 for the cert), some type of excel financial modeling cert,refm,biws, tts etc.
project manager: not as familiar with this field, maybe six sigma?
From the bigger brokerage shops it seems as if people don't go for certs and instead choose to become more involved. Joining ULI, NAIOP, volunteering, advising on a board etc,
Can't comment on PERE,Asset management, or bigger development shops as I don't have any experience with them
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