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Date: 01/19/2026

Cost Estimators

Prepare cost estimates for product manufacturing, construction projects, or services to aid management in bidding on or determining price of product or service. May specialize according to particular service performed or type of product manufactured.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

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

    Skills

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    6
    Workplace Documents
    5
    Graphic Literacy
    6

    Abilities

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    Knowledge

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    Career Video

    Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 75450/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 36.27/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 8,350
    • Yearly Projected Openings 670

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Conventional: People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Cautiousness
    • Integrity
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Perseverance
    • Self-Confidence

    Tools

    • Desktop computers
    • Notebook computers
    • Personal computers
    • Personal digital assistant PDAs or organizers
    • Scanners
    • Tablet computers

    Technology

    • Accounting software
    • Analytical or scientific software
    • Computer aided design CAD software
    • Customer relationship management CRM software
    • Data base reporting software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Document management software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • Expert system software
    • Financial analysis software
    • Graphics or photo imaging software
    • License management software
    • Office suite software
    • Presentation software
    • Process mapping and design software
    • Project management software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software

    Tags

    • InDemand occupations are considered a priority by the state of Ohio.

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