Occupation Profile for 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.
Signficant Points
- About 62 percent of cost estimators work in the construction industry, and another 15 percent are employed in manufacturing industries.
- Voluntary certification can be valuable to cost estimators; some individual employers may require professional certification for employment.
- Very good employment opportunities are expected.
- In construction and manufacturing, job prospects should be best for those with industry work experience and a bachelor’s degree in a related field.
Earnings
Salaries of cost estimators vary widely by experience, education, size of firm, and industry. Median annual earnings of wage and salary cost estimators in May 2006 were $52,940. The middle 50 percent earned between $40,320 and $69,460. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $31,600, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $88,310. Median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of cost estimators were:
| Nonresidential building construction | $60,870 |
| Building equipment contractors | 56,170 |
| Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors | 52,520 |
| Residential building construction | 52,460 |
| Building finishing contractors | 51,610 |
According to a July 2007 salary survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, those with bachelor’s degrees in construction science/management received job offers averaging $46,930 a year.
Job Outlook
Employment of cost estimators is expected to grow faster than average. Very good employment opportunities are expected.
Employment change. Employment is expected to grow by 19 percent between 2006 and 2016, which is faster than the average for all occupations. Employment growth in the construction industry, in which most cost estimators are employed, will account for the majority of new jobs in this occupation. Construction and repair of highways, streets, bridges, subway systems, airports, water and sewage systems, and electric power plants and transmission lines will stimulate demand for many more cost estimators. Similarly, increasing population and business growth will result in more construction of residential homes, office buildings, shopping malls, hospitals, schools, restaurants, and other structures that require cost estimators. As the population ages, the demand for nursing and extended-care facilities will also increase. The growing complexity of construction projects will also boost demand for cost estimators as a larger number of workers specialize in a particular area of construction.
Job prospects. Because there are no formal bachelor’s degree programs in cost estimating, some employers have difficulty recruiting qualified cost estimators, resulting in very good employment opportunities. Job prospects in construction should be best for those who have a degree in construction science, construction management, or building science plus practical experience in the various phases of construction or in a specialty craft area. For cost estimating jobs in manufacturing, those with degrees in mathematics, statistics, engineering, accounting, business administration, or economics should have the best job prospects.
In addition to job openings arising from employment growth, many additional openings should result annually from the need to replace workers who transfer to other occupations due to the sometimes stressful nature of the work, or who retire or leave the occupation for other reasons.
Employment of cost estimators, like that of many other construction workers, is sensitive to the fluctuations of the economy. Workers in these trades may experience periods of unemployment when the overall level of construction falls. On the other hand, shortages of these workers may occur in some areas during peak periods of building activity.
Employment
Cost estimators held about 221,000 jobs in 2006. About 62 percent of estimators were in the construction industry, and another 15 percent were employed in manufacturing. The remainder worked in a wide range of other industries.
Cost estimators work throughout the country, usually in or near major industrial, commercial, and government centers and in cities and suburban areas undergoing rapid change or development.