Pros
- Good comp for hours worked - Good WLB, not a very demanding job - Beautiful office - Argus experience - Exposure to different markets and asset classes - Work with name brand clients
Cons
- Zero work perks - Billable hour system - Unrealistic budgets for projects - No client engagement - Year end bonus was embarrassing. Some analysts worked a full year and were paid 2-3% of their salary despite the VAS group being one of the few profitable teams at the company - Office was a cubicle farm, rarely had corporate bonding events and there was zero sense of culture. In my last year, I started to detest going into the office just to sit at my computer all day and talk to nobody. Nobody adhered to the in-office requirement of three days per week. - Repetitive work, not intellectually challenging besides changing a cap rate based on a new sale. - You will have a hard time pivoting to the principal side after two years at the analyst level. The skills you gain as an appraiser are good but you have to make the effort in interviews to sell why you should be hired over someone with two years experience in acquisitions, asset management, development, etc. - I was overall unhappy and realized I did not want to spend any more time in valuation. Good place to start the career but not somewhere to stay forever. - Have to enter all time into time cards, which according to the head of the practice is the only thing that determines how good you are at your job and if you get promoted. - Make new hires think that this is a "valuation" role and not an appraiser role. You will not be helping firms with their acquisitions or consulting on new markets. You are appraising properties after they have already transacted. If the appraisal comes in low, then the client will have us change our assumptions to bring down the value, which has to be a violation of some sort of reporting policy as we are supposed to be "independent".