Chief Estimators are critical members of any construction or design team. They create budget estimates based on a variety of factors. The estimates are then used to bid on projects. As a chief estimator, some of the factors you'd consider include the cost of materials, cost of labor, transportation fees, and the profit margin. Chief estimators need to be adept in accounting, as well as several software packages.
Sometimes, the chief estimator also needs to be adept at bargain hunting to find the best materials and labor prices and lower the cost prices. A chief estimator can be instrumental in securing contracts for a company and helping them turn a sizable profit.
Some of the chief estimator requirements include a bachelor's degree in civil engineering, construction management, or a related field. They also need to be adept with financial software, the Microsoft package, and other necessary tools.
Chief Estimator Overview
Working as a Chief Estimator
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a chief estimator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $44.06 an hour? That's $91,652 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 9% and produce 18,700 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Chief Estimator Do
There are certain skills that many chief estimators have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed analytical skills, communication skills and detail oriented.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a chief estimator, we found that a lot of resumes listed 13.8% of chief estimators included construction projects, while 8.0% of resumes included project management, and 6.6% of resumes included cost estimates. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the chief estimator job title. But what industry to start with? Most chief estimators actually find jobs in the construction and manufacturing industries.
How To Become a Chief Estimator
If you're interested in becoming a chief estimator, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 48.9% of chief estimators have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 13.7% of chief estimators have master's degrees. Even though most chief estimators have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a chief estimator. When we researched the most common majors for a chief estimator, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or associate degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on chief estimator resumes include master's degree degrees or high school diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a chief estimator. In fact, many chief estimator jobs require experience in a role such as estimator project manager. Meanwhile, many chief estimators also have previous career experience in roles such as estimator or senior estimator.
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Chief Estimator Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a chief estimator can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as vice president, progress to a title such as managing director and then eventually end up with the title managing director.
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Average Salary for a Chief Estimator
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Aerotek *****Chief Estimator-Site Development**** *****Chief Estimator-Site Development**** | Aerotek Aerotek | 10/23/2020 10/23/2020 | $70,00010/23/2020 $70,000 |
Randstad Chief Estimator Chief Estimator | Randstad Randstad | 09/15/2020 09/15/2020 | $180,00009/15/2020 $180,000 |
Randstad Chief Estimator Chief Estimator | Randstad Randstad | 08/14/2020 08/14/2020 | $110,00008/14/2020 $110,000 |
Aerotek Chief Estimator Chief Estimator | Aerotek Aerotek | 06/26/2020 06/26/2020 | $85,00006/26/2020 $85,000 |
Manpowergroup Chief Estimator Chief Estimator | Manpowergroup Manpowergroup | 06/17/2020 06/17/2020 | $90,00006/17/2020 $90,000 |
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Top Colleges for Chief Estimators
1. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, CA • Public
2. New York University
New York, NY • Private
3. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
4. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Public
5. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
6. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA • Private
7. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
8. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
9. University of California - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Public
10. University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA • Public
Top Skills For a Chief Estimator
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 13.8% of chief estimators listed construction projects on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and communication skills are important as well.
- Construction Projects, 13.8%
- Project Management, 8.0%
- Cost Estimates, 6.6%
- Design-Build, 5.5%
- General Contractors, 5.2%
- Other Skills, 60.9% See All Chief Estimator Skills
Best States For a Chief Estimator
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a chief estimator. The best states for people in this position are Alaska, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. Chief estimators make the most in Alaska with an average salary of $131,081. Whereas in Vermont and Virginia, they would average $123,556 and $114,656, respectively. While chief estimators would only make an average of $112,593 in Washington, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Vermont
$123,556
Avg. Salary
2. Alaska
$131,081
Avg. Salary
3. Montana
$103,923
Avg. Salary