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.
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.
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.
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.