Cost Estimators
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.
What it pays
Cost Estimators earn a median of $37.86/hr — about $78,500 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $23.33/hr; the top 10% earn $62.90/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
Cost Estimators earn a median of $37.86/hr — about $78,500 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $23.33/hr; the top 10% earn $62.90/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
What you'd actually do
- Analyze blueprints and other documentation to prepare time, cost, materials, and labor estimates.
- Confer with engineers, architects, owners, contractors, and subcontractors on changes and adjustments to cost estimates.
- Collect historical cost data to estimate costs for current or future products.
- Assess cost effectiveness of products, projects or services, tracking actual costs relative to bids as the project develops.
- Consult with clients, vendors, personnel in other departments, or construction foremen to discuss and formulate estimates and resolve issues.
- Establish and maintain tendering process, and conduct negotiations.
How you get there
Typical entry-level education: Bachelor's degree. Overall preparation: considerable preparation (Job Zone 4 of 5).
The feel of the work
Much of the day is spent working solo. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)
Working for yourself
About 0.3% of cost estimators are self-employed.
Who it tends to fit
This work tends to fit people who are organized and detail-focused, take-charge and analytical.
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Quick questions
- How much does a cost estimator make?
- The median pay is $37.86 per hour — roughly $78,500 a year, with the real range running from about $23.33/hr (10th percentile) to $62.90/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Do you need a degree to be a cost estimator?
- The typical entry-level education is: Bachelor's degree. Overall preparation level: considerable preparation (Job Zone 4 of 5).
- What does a cost estimator actually do all day?
- Analyze blueprints and other documentation to prepare time, cost, materials, and labor estimates. Confer with engineers, architects, owners, contractors, and subcontractors on changes and adjustments to cost estimates. Collect historical cost data to estimate costs for current or future products.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS. Tasks & interests: O*NET. Career pathways shown in the app are draft archetypes — verify before relying on them. Trailhead is a free career guide for students — honest numbers, no hype.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.