OverviewSalaryAboutEducationWhere are the jobsEmploymentGenderRace/Origin
Overview
Prepare cost estimates for product manufacturing, construction projects, or services to aid management in bidding on or determining price of product or service. May specialize according to particular service performed or type of product manufactured.
Explore Pathways
Titles for this career often contain these words
Fewer details
Responsibilities and activities
Cost estimators typically do the following:
- Identify factors affecting costs, such as production time, materials, and labor
- Read blueprints and technical documents in order to prepare estimates
- Collaborate with engineers, architects, clients, and contractors
- Calculate, analyze, and adjust estimates
- Recommend ways to reduce costs
- Work with sales teams to prepare estimates and bids for clients
- Maintain records of estimated and actual costs
Accurately estimating the costs of construction and manufacturing projects is vital to the survival of businesses. Cost estimators provide managers with the information they need in order to submit competitive contract bids or price products appropriately.
Estimators analyze production processes to determine how much time, money, and labor a project needs. Their estimates account for many factors, including allowances for wasted material, bad weather, shipping delays, and other variables that can increase costs and lower profits.
In building construction, cost estimators use software to simulate the construction process and evaluate the costs of design choices. They often consult databases and their own records to compare the costs of similar projects.
The following are examples of types of cost estimators:
Construction cost estimators prepare estimates for buildings, roads, and other construction projects. They may calculate the total cost of building a bridge or commercial shopping center, or they may calculate the cost of just one component, such as the foundation. They identify costs of elements such as raw materials and labor, and they may set a timeline for how long they expect the project to take. Although many work directly for construction firms, some work for contractors and engineering firms.
Manufacturing cost estimators calculate the costs of developing, producing, or redesigning a company’s goods or services. For example, a cost estimator working for a home appliance manufacturer may determine a new dishwasher’s production costs, allowing managers to make production decisions.
Other workers, such as operations research analysts and construction managers, may also estimate costs in the course of their usual duties.
Salary
Median salary: $66,610 annually
Half of those employed in this career earn between $51,980 and $88,460.
Context: Median Salary
How do salaries for this career compare to other jobs' salaries?
Fewer details
Salary growth for cost estimators
Is this job likely to reward you for sticking with it through pay raises and promotions? The higher a job’s “experience quotient,” the more you are likely to get as you stay there.
Experience quotient percentile
Take a minute to look at how much you might expect your salary to increase with each five years' experience, as well as how the numbers working at each age change. Does this seem to be a job for the young or the old, or could it be a career offering steady salary growth for many years?
Salary distribution
Number employed
About Cost Estimators
How do benefits for this career compare to other jobs? The availability of health care, especially employer provided health care, and pension plans can add significantly to the value of compensation you receive in a career. These charts compare how this career compares to other careers with regard to health care and pension plans.
Employee has health insurance
Employer is providing health insurance
Employer-provided pension plan is available
Worker concerns
Some jobs are more stressful than others, and some are just plain dangerous. The following list gives the percentages of cost estimators who report hazardous or difficult situations typically occurring at least once a week.
- Time Pressure (81%)
Fewer details
Personality and skills
Can you see yourself in the ranks of Cost Estimators? Here are the skills and traits that could lead to success.
Analytical skills
Cost estimators consider and evaluate different construction and manufacturing methods and options to determine the most cost-effective solution that meets the required specifications.
Communication skills
Cost estimators write comprehensive reports, which often help managers make production decisions.
Detail oriented
Cost estimators must pay attention to details because minor changes can greatly affect the overall cost of a project or product.
Math skills
Cost estimators calculate labor, material, and equipment cost estimates for construction projects. They use software, such as spreadsheets and databases, and they need excellent math skills to calculate these estimates accurately.
Time-management skills
Cost estimators often work on fixed deadlines, so they must plan in advance and work efficiently.
Injury and Illness
About 6 cost estimators become injured or ill for every 10,000 workers, which reflects fewer events than in 56% of other careers. The most common specific illnesses or injuries are detailed following.
Soreness and pain
Sprains, strains, tears
Education pathways to this career
Education attained by cost estimators
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), cost estimators typically hold a bachelor's degree.
Sometimes the typical education identified by the BLS differs a bit from the reality of the how much education current workers actually have. The donut shows the education level held by people currently working as cost estimators as reported in responses to the American Community Survey.
Details: Education and training recommended for cost estimators
Employers generally prefer candidates who have a bachelor’s degree.
Construction cost estimators typically need a bachelor’s degree in an industry-related field, such as construction management or engineering. Manufacturing cost estimators typically need a bachelor’s degree in engineering, business, or finance.
Education level of Cost Estimators
Only 36% of cost estimators have a bachelor's degree or higher.
Education attained by cost estimators
None
High School
Some College
Associate's Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Master's Degree
Professional Degree
Doctorate
Fewer details
Programs recommended by the Department of Education
The Department of Education recommends the following college degree programs as preparation for this career. You can click a program row to learn more about the program and explore a list of schools that offer the program.
Program
Where are the jobs
State-by-state employment numbers
Some careers tend to be centered in specific parts of the country. For example, most jobs in fashion are in New York or California. Let's see if your dream job is easy to find in your dream location! We have a few choices for viewing the data that can help you get a full employment picture.
Select a state to see local area details
Number of Cost Estimators per 1,000 workers (ACS)
Fewer details
Job density versus job count
Which states hire the most cost estimators? We wonder if that's a fair question since states come in all sizes, so instead let's start with the question of which states have the highest density of people working as cost estimators. You can choose to view the number of jobs per state if you prefer.
Salaries by state
Let's get a feel for where cost estimators earn the highest salaries. There are several choices for which data we consider and how we view that data, and each can lead to different conclusions, so please read on...
Median salary versus state ratio
We use two methods to compare salaries across states:
- In-state comparisons: the ratio of median (middle) salaries for cost estimators compared to the median salary for all people working in each state, or
- Median salary: the unaltered median salaries for cost estimators.
The darkest shading corresponds to states in which cost estimators earn the highest salary when compared to other jobs in the state. We think this figure might be a better indicator than the actual salary for your buying power as a state resident.
Select a state to see local area details
Location-adjusted median salary for Cost Estimators (ACS)
Employment
5% of Cost estimators are working part time.
We’ve found that some jobs have a huge number of part-time workers, and typically that is because they are unable to find full-time work or the job itself can’t provide full-time hours. With 5% part-time workers, this occupation has a lower percentage of part-time workers than 77% of careers.
Employer types
This donut shares the break-down of workers by employer type, giving us a picture of what employers most typically hire for this career.
Employers of undefined (ACS)
Private for-profit
Private not-for-profit
Local government
State government
Federal government
Self-employed incorporated
Self-employed not incorporated
Working without pay
Fewer details
Distribution: Salaries of cost estimators by type of employer
Here are the salary distributions based on employer type.
Gender
Cost estimators and gender
With 14% women, this occupation has a lower percentage of women than 74% of careers.
Gender of Cost estimators
Men (86%)
Women (14%)
Distribution: salaries by gender
Does gender greatly influence your salary in this career? The closer the bars are, the less discrepancy there is.
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
Fewer details
Context: Women in the workforce
How does this career compare to other careers with regard to the percentage of women in the career.
Context: Salary inequity
The median (middle) salary for all full-time male workers
in the US exceeds the full-time median salary for women
by 19%, and the difference
for cost estimators tops that, with the median salary for
men 32% higher than the median
salary for women.
Race/Origin
Race and origin of Cost estimators
This donut shows the distribution of race and origin among those employed as Cost estimators.
Race/origin of cost estimators
White (90% )
Asian (3% )
Other (2% )
Black (2% )
Multiracial (2% )
Hispanic (1% )
American Indian (0% )
Pacific Islander (0% )
Distribution: salaries by race/origin
Some careers might have a pay disparity based on race or origin, the closer the below bars are the less of a discrepancy is present.
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
