While planning any new project, you consider a number of things, including its budget. The budget encompasses every expense of the project. You also would want to know how much money you will need to fulfill the electrical demands of the project. Perhaps you can ask an electrical estimator to give you an estimate of the cost needed to meet the electrical requirements of the project.
Electrical estimators are involved in analyzing blueprints to find out the cost and amount of the materials and fixtures as well as wire lengths required for multiple electrical projects. They are hired to improve cost-estimating procedures so that they can decrease inconsistencies between actual and estimated project costs. Expert estimators usually participate in project biddings by submitting and completing their unique proposals according to the set guidelines.
As far as their income is concerned, they make about $38.39 per hour, on average. To become one, at minimum, you need a high school degree or equivalent. But some estimators also hold bachelor's and master's degrees. Also, professionals are usually detail-oriented, have strong analytical skills and strong communication skills.
How to Become an Electrical Estimator
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an electrical estimator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $30.97 an hour? That's $64,420 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 an Electrical Estimator Do
There are certain skills that many electrical 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.
How To Become an Electrical Estimator
If you're interested in becoming an electrical estimator, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 47.6% of electrical estimators have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 7.9% of electrical estimators have master's degrees. Even though most electrical 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 an electrical estimator. When we researched the most common majors for an electrical estimator, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or associate degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on electrical estimator resumes include high school diploma degrees or master's degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become an electrical estimator. In fact, many electrical estimator jobs require experience in a role such as estimator project manager. Meanwhile, many electrical estimators also have previous career experience in roles such as electrician or journeyman electrician.
Electrical Estimator Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of estimator project manager you might progress to a role such as construction manager eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title senior construction manager.
Average Salary for an Electrical Estimator
What Am I Worth?
Top Colleges for Electrical Estimators
1. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, CA • Private
2. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
3. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
4. Lehigh University
Bethlehem, PA • Private
5. Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA • Private
6. New York University
New York, NY • Private
7. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
8. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
9. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA • Private
10. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
Top Skills For an Electrical 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, 8.7% of electrical estimators listed project management on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and communication skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Electrical Estimator Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Electrical Estimator templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Electrical Estimator resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Electrical Estimator Demographics
Electrical Estimator Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among electrical estimators, 8.9% of them are women, while 91.1% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among electrical estimators is White, which makes up 80.4% of all electrical estimators.
- The most common foreign language among electrical estimators is Spanish at 72.2%.
Online Courses For Electrical Estimator That You May Like
Learn how to design a safe, flexible and durable electrical system for any construction site...
Learn all the basic theories and principles of electrical engineering...
Learn how to estimate costs for any project, how to determine budget and how to use Earned Value Management tools. 3 PDU...
Best States For an Electrical Estimator
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as an electrical estimator. The best states for people in this position are Alaska, Oregon, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Electrical estimators make the most in Alaska with an average salary of $101,717. Whereas in Oregon and Massachusetts, they would average $83,944 and $81,113, respectively. While electrical estimators would only make an average of $78,917 in Vermont, 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. Massachusetts
$81,113
Avg. Salary
2. Oregon
$83,944
Avg. Salary
3. District of Columbia
$77,965
Avg. Salary
How Do Electrical Estimator Rate Their Jobs?
Top Electrical Estimator Employers
Most Common Employers For Electrical Estimator
| Rank  | Company  | Average Salary  | Hourly Rate  | Job Openings  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pacific Gas and Electric | $80,817 | $38.85 | 4 |
| 2 | Lord | $77,350 | $37.19 | 5 |
| 3 | Barton Malow | $75,517 | $36.31 | 3 |
| 4 | CyberCoders | $74,685 | $35.91 | 3 |
| 5 | AECOM | $73,808 | $35.48 | 4 |
| 6 | DPR Construction | $73,583 | $35.38 | 3 |
| 7 | Aireko | $73,443 | $35.31 | 4 |
| 8 | Kiewit | $71,643 | $34.44 | 4 |
| 9 | Caddell Construction | $71,235 | $34.25 | 5 |
| 10 | Black & Veatch | $69,336 | $33.33 | 4 |