3DS Max vs Blender in architecture

Hello.

I have an opportunity to join a 3DS beginner course with a student discount. I’ve only once worked in architectural visualisation so far but the workflow would have been easier/quicker if I was on 3ds than on blender - I suspect.

My question lies in whether it is worth to pay for the introductory course into 3DS max (usually worth ~$300 = ~200€). I am not sure what exactly will be learned but perhaps some of you would. I would also get a certificate for it and am curious if that means anything for the level mentioned.

It is always better to know various software but my question here is only if it is worth the financial input or should I go learn the basics over the internet for free? Furthermore, how much quality can I expect from free tutorials? I saw some good results but the courses to get there were mostly tied to paid memberships.

I still prefer working with Blender due to other factors, so knowing what 3DS max can offer in comparison would be great. For example, I had to model a bedroom in the last project but could not for the life of me make that thick type of bed covers which would look mildly realistic - I know how to work with cloth, but the bed was not supposed to be messy. Also, the bed had to be “made/ordered/folded”. I also failed to achieve photorealism, which is due to my own shortcomings, yet I would lke to know more about how different it is to reach for it in 3DS.

My thoughts:

Courses can be good or bad and you never know that before actually attending one. Certificates are worthless IMO, people usually want to see portfolio and don’t care much about those certificates.

It is possible to learn 3ds from online tuts but there are not many good free 3ds tuts around. But you can definitely get some good tuts for money.

Blender is lacking quite a lot in archiviz field compared to 3DS. The main problem is the lack of specialized plugins - check for example RailClone. Also the scene managment is much more difficult in Blender.

both work each has it’s own flavor. also depends who you work with and if Blender can fit in the pipe-line. if it can’t then don’t torture yourself and others trying.

just wait and don’t give up on trying new posibilities. Blender has potential.