Estimator project manager education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become an estimator project manager. Estimator project managers usually study business, construction management, or civil engineering. 60% of estimator project managers hold a bachelor's degree, and 22% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 16,509 real estimator project manager resumes to see exactly what estimator project manager education sections show.

The most common colleges for estimator project managers are the Purdue University and the Purdue University.

There are also many online estimator project manager courses to help get the education required to be an estimator project manager.

There are certain estimator project manager certifications that you should consider. These estimator project manager certifications include Certified Construction Manager (CCM) and Certified Estimating Professional (CPE).

What education do you need to become an estimator project manager?

What degree do you need to be an estimator project manager?

The most common degree for estimator project managers is bachelor's degree, with 60% of estimator project managers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 22% and associate degree degree at 8%.

Bachelor's, 60%

Associate, 22%

High School Diploma, 8%

Master's, 5%

Other Degrees, 5%

What should I major in to become an estimator project manager?

You should major in business to become an estimator project manager. 23% of estimator project managers major in business. Other common majors for an estimator project manager include construction management and civil engineering.

Business, 23%

Construction Management, 17%

Civil Engineering, 11%

Drafting And Design, 5%

Other Majors, 44%

Most common colleges for estimator project managers

Estimator project managers often get their degrees at Purdue University, University of Phoenix, and Texas A&M; University. Here are the most common colleges for estimator project managers in the US based on their resumes.

Estimator project manager common college	Percentages
Purdue University	9.67%
University of Phoenix	8.52%
Texas A&M University	7.59%
Auburn University Main Campus	7.17%
Colorado State University	6.76%

Show more common estimator project manager colleges

Best majors for estimator project managers

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Business	23.1%
2	Construction Management	17.3%
3	Civil Engineering	10.5%
4	Drafting And Design	5.4%
5	Architecture	4.1%

Show more common estimator project manager majors

Best colleges for estimator project managers

The best colleges for estimator project managers are Northwestern University, Stanford University, and University of Pennsylvania.

An estimator project manager with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for estimator project managers. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become estimator project managers.

1. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$9,816

Enrollment

21,047

2. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

3. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

4. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

5. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

6. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-state tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

7. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

8. Lehigh University

Bethlehem, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$52,930

Enrollment

5,030

9. Pennsylvania State University

University Park, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$18,454

Enrollment

40,108

10. Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Worcester, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,530

Enrollment

4,571

20 best online courses for estimator project managers

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1. Projects Cost Management, Estimating, Budgeting and Control.

4.1

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Learn how to estimate costs for any project, how to determine budget and how to use Earned Value Management tools. 3 PDU...

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4.6

(642)

Learn the tools used by construction management professionals to ensure their projects finish under budget...

3. Project Management: Cost & Schedule Monitoring using EVM

4.3

(1,114)

Earned Value Management, Project Management, Cost Control & Monitor, Budget, Schedule & Cost Variance, Performance Index...

4. IT Project Budget & Cost Management

4.4

(290)

Project Management tips to manage a million dollar IT Project budget from start to finish...

5. Project Management - Complete Guide For A+ Project Managers

4.6

(494)

Complete guide to project management - stakeholders, planning, cost, quality, risks, feasibility, methods & resourcing...

6. Mastering Construction/Project Management

4.2

(659)

Mastering Construction-Project Management in less than 10 Hours...

7. Learn Estimating & Cost Control

(345)

Develop a good practical understanding of best practice estimating and cost control on building & construction Projects...

8. Quantity Surveying Building Estimation BBS with Excel & CAD

4.4

(1,052)

Quantity Surveying, Construction Estimation ,Quantity survey ,Cost Estimation ,Civil engineering, Building Estimation...

9. Contracts Management in Construction Projects

4.3

(730)

Contracts Management, Contract Administration, FIDIC, Bank Guarantees, Contracts, Letter Drafting, Quantity Surveying...

10. Construction Project Scheduling

4.5

(346)

Learn the tools and techniques used by construction management professionals to ensure projects finish on time...

11. Learn Xactimate in less than 4 hours

4.3

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Introduction to Xactimate - Cost Estimation Software for Construction Project...

12. Project Management Master Class: Government Projects

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Learn How To Win Big By Always Successfully Completing Government Projects Using Ninja Project Management Techniques...

13. Agile Crash Course: Agile Project Management; Agile Delivery

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Agile Project Management Basics (Scrum) & Agile Project Management Essentials (Scrum). Plus Agile Certification (Scrum)...

14. Project Management Training

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Project Management Certification Training with 4 Full Practice Tests...

15. Project Management Essentials

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A crash course in the essentials of project management for new project managers...

16. Quantity Surveying Building Estimation,Cad Excel & Planswift

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Quantity Surveying, Quantity Takeoff, BBS In Excel ,Complete Project In Autocad, Project Planning With Primavera P6...

17. Project Management Fundamentals

4.6

(23,399)

Practical Project Management worked example using Gantt Charts, PMI, PMP, APM...

18. Mastering Agile Scrum Project Management

4.5

(5,170)

Review and master agile development & scrum methodologies for your career...

19. Project Management: Becoming a Successful Project manager

4.4

(250)

Project Management...

20. Project Management with Earned Value Management (EVM) 9 PDUs

4.5

(483)

Project Management with Earned Value Management Earned Value Management for PMP Certification EVM with MS Project...

Top 10 most affordable universities for estimator project managers

The most affordable schools for estimator project managers are University of Florida, suny farmingdale, and california state university - long beach.

If the best universities for estimator project managers are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for estimator project managers.

1. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

2. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

3. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

4. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

5. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

6. USF Sarasota-Manatee

Sarasota, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,587

Cost of attendance

13,043

7. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Cost of attendance

20,456

8. University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez

Mayaguez, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$4,094

Cost of attendance

14,302

9. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

Socorro, NM • Private

In-state tuition

$7,770

Cost of attendance

21,244

10. California State University - Northridge

Northridge, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,893

Cost of attendance

18,870

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for estimator project managers

The hardest universities for estimator project managers to get into are Northwestern University, Stanford University, and University of Pennsylvania.

Some great schools for estimator project managers are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for estimator project managers based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,508

2. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,497

3. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,492

4. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

5. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

6. Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, MO • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,506

7. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

8. Lehigh University

Bethlehem, PA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,380

9. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

Admissions rate

23%

SAT average

1,434

10. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for estimator project managers

The easiest schools for estimator project managers to get into are Oklahoma Wesleyan University, pennsylvania state university - fayette (the eberly campus), and pennsylvania state university - worthington scranton.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as an estimator project manager without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for estimator project managers.

1. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

2. Pennsylvania State University - Fayette (The Eberly Campus)

Lemont Furnace, PA • Private

Admissions rate

80%

SAT average

1,067

3. Pennsylvania State University - Worthington Scranton

Dunmore, PA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

1,056

4. Holy Names University

Oakland, CA • Private

Admissions rate

70%

SAT average

849

5. Gwynedd Mercy University

Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,031

6. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

7. The University of Texas at El Paso

El Paso, TX • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,035

8. University of North Texas at Dallas

Dallas, TX • Private

Admissions rate

83%

SAT average

992

9. Life University

Marietta, GA • Private

Admissions rate

94%

SAT average

979

10. Oregon Institute of Technology

Klamath Falls, OR • Private

Admissions rate

96%

SAT average

1,139

Average estimator project manager salary by education level

According to our data, estimator project managers with a Master's degree earn the highest average salary, at $83,896 annually. Estimator project managers with a Bachelor's degree earn an average annual salary of $78,511.

Estimator project manager education level	Estimator project manager salary
Master's Degree	$83,896
High School Diploma or Less	$72,169
Bachelor's Degree	$78,511
Some College/ Associate Degree	$74,033

Estimator project manager education FAQs

What is the best college for Estimator Project Managers?

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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