Cost analyst vs cost engineer

The differences between cost analysts and cost engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a cost analyst, becoming a cost engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a cost engineer has an average salary of $87,901, which is higher than the $54,158 average annual salary of a cost analyst.

The top three skills for a cost analyst include cost analysis, financial analysis and cost estimates. The most important skills for a cost engineer are project management, cost analysis, and construction management.

Cost analyst vs cost engineer overview

	Cost Analyst	Cost Engineer
Yearly salary	$54,158	$87,901
Hourly rate	$26.04	$42.26
Growth rate	3%	3%
Number of jobs	60,034	65,278
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Average age	47	45
Years of experience	4	6

What does a cost analyst do?

Cost Analysts are employees with a strong background in finance or accounting. They are in charge of collecting financial data and analyzing the entries. They study the company's expenses and prepare pertinent reports. Cost Analysts look for inconsistencies in the financial data. This way, they can assist in auditing the company's spending. Cost Analysts also look for inefficiencies. They do so by tracking item costs and department budgets and monitoring department expenses. They are also involved in budget-setting activities.

What does a cost engineer do?

A cost engineer is responsible for projecting cost and expenses reports for the production process, identify and mitigate risks, and develop strategic techniques to reduce the excessive financial loss for project buildings. Cost engineers conduct data and statistical analysis to measure time deliverables and quality checks to ensure profitability and adherence to business objectives. They research and negotiate materials from trusted suppliers and vendors with high-quality products that would meet construction designs and client specifications.

Cost analyst vs cost engineer salary

Cost analysts and cost engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Cost Analyst	Cost Engineer
Average salary	$54,158	$87,901
Salary range	Between $39,000 And $73,000	Between $64,000 And $120,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Virginia	Rhode Island
Best paying company	General Motors	BP America Inc
Best paying industry	Automotive	Energy

Differences between cost analyst and cost engineer education

There are a few differences between a cost analyst and a cost engineer in terms of educational background:

	Cost Analyst	Cost Engineer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Georgia Institute of Technology

Cost analyst vs cost engineer demographics

Here are the differences between cost analysts' and cost engineers' demographics:

	Cost Analyst	Cost Engineer
Average age	47	45
Gender ratio	Male, 54.2% Female, 45.8%	Male, 74.1% Female, 25.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 8.6% White, 59.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 4.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.3% Asian, 14.4% White, 64.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	13%	6%

Differences between cost analyst and cost engineer duties and responsibilities

Cost analyst example responsibilities.

Manage general ledger expense accounts assign to ERP implementation project.
Develop, maintain financial models/applications (VBA Excel/Access) to automate and streamline business processes and perform financial analysis.
Perform cost control, revenue analysis and variance analysis for several DOD contracts.
Identify parts that need to be realign to correct WBS s in order to bring costs inline.
Ensure that purchase orders and work orders are setup in accordance with establish DuPont procedures and appropriate WBS structures.
Perform fixed asset and manufacturing accounting within ERP system.

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Cost engineer example responsibilities.

Manage and monitor SharePoint activities and update daily tasks to ensure information is documented, remains accurate and up-to-date.
Manage Jenkins security by providing specific access to authorize developers/testers using project base matrix authorization strategy.
Create BOM for each project assuring special procedures, materials requirements and reinforcements.
Research and analyze various commodities for function to price and price to cost evaluation.
Design and install a complete integrate information management system on IBM equipment and ERP software.
Document all corporate procedures and policies instruction to establish constancy within GAAP rules and regulation.

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Cost analyst vs cost engineer skills

Common cost analyst skills

Cost Analysis, 8%
Financial Analysis, 6%
Cost Estimates, 6%
Data Analysis, 4%
DOD, 4%
Variance Analysis, 4%

Common cost engineer skills

Project Management, 9%
Cost Analysis, 7%
Construction Management, 7%
Project Controls, 7%
Cost Data, 5%
Cost Models, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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