For years now I've been promoting 3ds Max to the masses. I've always had a love affair with 3ds Max, so it's natural for me. However, many students, hobbyists and freelancers have always balked at Max because of the cost. Max has never been a small investment. So many have avoided Max on cost alone. That appears to be changing.
Autodesk announced at Siggraph this year the release of 3ds Max Indie (https://area.autodesk.com/3ds-max-indie/). This version is a fully-functioning version of Max for anyone living in certain regions and making less than $100k per year on design work. At this time it's limited to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK or the US. Hopefully this initiative will expand to other regions.
So if you ever wanted to work with a commercial license of Max at an Indie rate, now is your time! (https://area.autodesk.com/3ds-max-indie/)
And while you're at it, don't forget to add some Wall Worm tools/plugins (https://wallworm.com/store/) to your collection of tools :)