How to hire a project scheduler

How to hire a project scheduler, step by step

Here's a step-by-step project scheduler hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a project scheduler job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new project scheduler
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a project scheduler do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a project scheduler, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a project scheduler to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a project scheduler that fits the bill.

   The following list breaks down different types of project schedulers and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Project Scheduler	Description	Hourly rate
   Project Scheduler	Material recording clerks track product information in order to keep businesses and supply chains on schedule. They ensure proper scheduling, recordkeeping, and inventory control.	$29-56
   Material Coordinator	A material coordinator is in charge of processing requisitions and ensuring that all departments receive necessary goods and materials within a company. Aside from this, they must maintain positive engagements with vendors, suppliers, and business partners, negotiate contracts, manage schedules of deliveries, and prioritize cost-efficient goods... Show more	$14-25
   Inventory Control Coordinator	An inventory control coordinator is responsible for monitoring the adequacy of office inventory to ensure that the company has enough supplies to support the employees' needs for business operations. Inventory control coordinators manage supply chain systems, conduct inventory checks regularly, write inventory reports, create purchase requests, and file inventory documents on the database... Show more	$13-22

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Project Management
   • Primavera P6
   • Project Controls
   • Microsoft Project
   • Work Breakdown Structure
   • Scheduling Software
   • Master Schedule
   • Program Management
   • Construction Projects
   • PowerPoint
   • Project Planning
   • WBS
   • Schedule Updates
   • Earned Value Management

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage WIP at outside vendors to ensure the timely completion of orders and desire priorities are achieve.
   • Manage multiple fee pools (CPFF, CPAF, and CPIF).
   • Deliver assets and manage QA segment for creative team
   • Make purchase requisitions in MAXIMO program, inventory, accounts payable and manage budget.
   • Manage daily ERP requirements for work order release to the manufacturing floor to ensure on-time delivery.
   • Manage logistics activities with suppliers and carry out plans to gather, box and ship material for overseas projects.

   More project scheduler duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your project scheduler job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A project scheduler salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, project schedulers' average salary in wyoming is 49% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level project schedulers earn 48% less than senior-level project schedulers.
   • Certifications. A project scheduler with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a project scheduler's salary.

   Average project scheduler salary

   $85,491yearly

   $41.10 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level project scheduler salary

   $61,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 18, 2025

   Average project scheduler salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$114,721	$55
   2	Washington	$95,326	$46
   3	Maryland	$93,958	$45
   4	New York	$92,637	$45
   5	Pennsylvania	$92,089	$44
   6	Texas	$90,451	$43
   7	Louisiana	$89,805	$43
   8	Michigan	$86,390	$42
   9	Massachusetts	$85,271	$41
   10	Colorado	$84,289	$41
   11	Virginia	$84,206	$40
   12	District of Columbia	$82,773	$40
   13	Missouri	$82,263	$40
   14	Arizona	$82,213	$40
   15	Connecticut	$81,748	$39
   16	Ohio	$80,747	$39
   17	Minnesota	$78,598	$38
   18	Alabama	$78,351	$38
   19	North Carolina	$78,332	$38
   20	Illinois	$78,225	$38

   Average project scheduler salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	AstraZeneca	$120,720	$58.04
   2	Ameresco	$111,128	$53.43
   3	PEAK Technical Staffing USA	$95,385	$45.86
   4	TEKsystems	$95,331	$45.83	4
   5	Oceaneering	$94,392	$45.38	1
   6	HDR	$93,503	$44.95	9
   7	MTS Systems	$93,360	$44.88
   8	Parsons	$93,105	$44.76	29
   9	Brown and Caldwell	$92,762	$44.60	1
   10	Fluor Corporation	$92,429	$44.44	14
   11	Hargrove Engineers + Constructors	$92,399	$44.42	6
   12	Ampirical	$92,098	$44.28	9
   13	ICONMA	$92,079	$44.27
   14	OTHON ENGINEERING	$91,852	$44.16
   15	The Dow Chemical Company	$91,838	$44.15	4
   16	BRPH	$91,628	$44.05	1
   17	POWER Engineers	$91,491	$43.99	10
   18	Planate Management Group	$91,433	$43.96
   19	QinetiQ North America	$90,773	$43.64
   20	Gaea	$90,630	$43.57

4. Writing a project scheduler job description

   A good project scheduler job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a project scheduler job description:

   Project scheduler job description example

   At Anser Advisory, we strive and succeed by creating smart, dynamic and professionally skilled teams to deliver extraordinary projects for our clients. You will work on interesting projects which will expand your expertise and hone your technical skills through the ability to access the most advanced technology on the market. Your successful impact will help us obtain our goal of being the nationwide go-to professional services provider. Anser provides our clients with advisory, compliance, program and project construction management services at the highest level of dedication.
   
   Our relationships are on our credibility to deliver on our commitments, with unbeatable service levels to our clients which has resulted in our rapid growth, nationwide.
   
   Duties & ResponsibilitiesDevelops and maintains program schedules identifying relationships, logic, milestones, and constraints for construction projects of various types Independently interprets and reads detailed construction drawings (Architectural, Structural, Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, Civil, etc.) and develops a clear understanding of work scope Reviews Contractor's Baseline schedule submissions and verifies that all work scope is identified properly and logically sequenced correctly; provides written detailed schedule review comments Performs QA/QC on contractor schedule submittals for conformance with contract; reviews critical path, cost loading, resource loading of man-hours, schedule content, recovery schedules, use of logic relationships and lags, constraints and milestones Performs schedule Time Impact Analysis for any change orders that affect the construction schedule; conducts schedule negotiations with the OAR and the contractor for any delay time settlements Reads drawings to determine if work is in or out of scope, and understands terms and conditions of the contract to determine if any compensable or non-compensable time extensions have merit Performs Critical Path analysis and Earned Value analysis Walks the construction sites as needed and checks the contractor's weekly/monthly schedule progress; provides reports to the project OAR and upper management.Effectively communicates with the Contractor regarding all schedule/progress related matters and concerns in the weekly status meetings and all other schedule related meetings Performs Program Schedule QA/QC reviews on a regular basis Performs status updates for Program Schedules/Master Schedules on a bi-monthly basis Ensures proper use of Program-level standard codes, layouts and reports necessary to ensure data integrity Serves as a liaison between project teams, department leadership and the Program & Project Controls department Prepares reports as needed and directed by Management
   
   Required Qualifications & EducationGraduation from a recognized college or university with a bachelor's degree in Architecture, Engineering or Construction Management ORGraduation from a recognized college or university with a bachelor's degree in any course, but with additional two (2) years of experience in Construction Scheduling to compensate for the required education.Eight (8) years full time paid professional experience in Construction Scheduling for an Owner or General Contractor, preferably in an educational facility or public works projects Proficiency in Primavera 15.1 or above and MS Office SuiteExcellent written and verbal communication skills Superior organizational and planning skills Ability to build efficient working relationships with project teams and department staff Understanding of theories, principles and practices of cost engineering, scheduling and schedule forensics
   
   PLEASE NOTE: This position requires the candidate to work on projects with our client, LAUSD. Please note that LAUSD hiring requirements state that any candidates submitted for consideration be fully vaccinated and able to submit proof of vaccination. LAUSD will not consider candidates who do not meet this requirement.
   
   We hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds, because it makes our firm stronger. Each of us contributes to our inclusive environment in the way we act, our level of commitment, encouragement to others to share their ideas, and our everyday, outstanding teamwork to support our clients. We also support professional for our staff and celebrate their accomplishments.
   Simply put, our firm is better...because of the people we work with.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right project scheduler for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with project schedulers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit project schedulers who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your project scheduler job on Zippia to find and recruit project scheduler candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit project schedulers, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new project scheduler

   Once you've found the project scheduler candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new project scheduler. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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