What does a Cost Estimator do?

Prepare cost estimates for product manufacturing, construction projects, or services to aid management in bidding on or determining price of product or service. Day to day that includes work like analyze blueprints and other documentation to prepare time, cost, materials, and labor estimates and Confer with engineers, architects, owners, contractors, and subcontractors on changes and adjustments to cost estimates.

What skills should a Cost Estimator put on a resume?

O*NET rates Mathematics, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Active Listening, and Critical Thinking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Cost Estimator list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Acrobat, Apple AppleWorks, Assured Software JPP, Autodesk AutoCAD, and Autodesk Revit. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Cost Estimator work?

O*NET records 38 titles for this occupation, including Construction Estimator, Cost Analyst, Estimator, and Acquisition Cost Estimator. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Cost Estimator need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 82% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Cost Estimator role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Cost Estimator resume example

A resume for a Cost Estimator needs to show the work itself: prepare cost estimates for product manufacturing, construction projects, or services to aid management in bidding on or determining price of product or service. Day to day that means work like this: analyze blueprints and other documentation to prepare time, cost, materials, and labor estimates; confer with engineers, architects, owners, contractors, and subcontractors on changes and adjustments to cost estimates. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Construction Estimator
Cost Analyst
Estimator
Acquisition Cost Estimator
Analyst
Cost Consultant
Cost Engineer
Cost Estimating Analyst
Estimating Specialist
Cost Recovery Tech
Investment Recovery Tech
Building Construction Estimator
Building Estimator
Civil Estimator
Commercial Construction Estimator
Commercial Estimator
Commercial Roofing Estimator
Concrete Estimator

O*NET records 38 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Analyze blueprints and other documentation to prepare time, cost, materials, and labor estimates.
Confer with engineers, architects, owners, contractors, and subcontractors on changes and adjustments to cost estimates.
Collect historical cost data to estimate costs for current or future products.
Assess cost effectiveness of products, projects or services, tracking actual costs relative to bids as the project develops.
Consult with clients, vendors, personnel in other departments, or construction foremen to discuss and formulate estimates and resolve issues.
Establish and maintain tendering process, and conduct negotiations.
Prepare estimates for use in selecting vendors or subcontractors.
Prepare estimates used by management for purposes such as planning, organizing, and scheduling work.
Set up cost monitoring and reporting systems and procedures.
Review material and labor requirements to decide whether it is more cost-effective to produce or purchase components.
Prepare cost and expenditure statements and other necessary documentation at regular intervals for the duration of the project.
Conduct special studies to develop and establish standard hour and related cost data or to reduce cost.

14 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Analyze blueprints and other documentation to prepare time, cost, materials, and labor estimates, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Confer with engineers, architects, owners, contractors, and subcontractors on changes and adjustments to cost estimates, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Collect historical cost data to estimate costs for current or future products, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Assess cost effectiveness of products, projects or services, tracking actual costs relative to bids as the project develops, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Adobe Acrobat
Apple AppleWorks
Assured Software JPP
Autodesk AutoCAD
Autodesk Revit
Choice Job Cost
Computer aided design and drafting CADD software
ConEst BidTrac
ConEst Electrical Formulas
ConEst Intellibid
ConEst IntelliBid Design Build
ConEst JobTrac
ConEst Permit Trac
ConEst SureCount

64 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Desktop computers
Notebook computers
Personal computers
Personal digital assistants PDA
Scanners
Tablet computers

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

On Center On-Screen Takeoff
QuickBooks
Microsoft Dynamics
Oracle Primavera Enterprise Project Portfolio Management
Procore
SAP
Trimble SketchUp Pro

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Mathematics
02Reading Comprehension
03Speaking
04Active Listening
05Critical Thinking
06Judgment and Decision Making
07Writing
08Complex Problem Solving
09Active Learning
10Coordination

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Mathematics
Economics and Accounting
Computers and Electronics
Engineering and Technology
Building and Construction
Administration and Management
English Language
Design

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

82%Bachelor's Degree
9%Associate's Degree
5%High School Diploma, or the equivalent

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Considerable Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Common questions

What does a Cost Estimator do?: Prepare cost estimates for product manufacturing, construction projects, or services to aid management in bidding on or determining price of product or service. Day to day that includes work like analyze blueprints and other documentation to prepare time, cost, materials, and labor estimates and Confer with engineers, architects, owners, contractors, and subcontractors on changes and adjustments to cost estimates.
What skills should a Cost Estimator put on a resume?: O*NET rates Mathematics, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Active Listening, and Critical Thinking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Cost Estimator list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Acrobat, Apple AppleWorks, Assured Software JPP, Autodesk AutoCAD, and Autodesk Revit. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Cost Estimator work?: O*NET records 38 titles for this occupation, including Construction Estimator, Cost Analyst, Estimator, and Acquisition Cost Estimator. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Cost Estimator need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 82% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Cost Estimator role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.