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Date: 12/16/2025

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.
    • 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.
    • Analyze blueprints and other documentation to prepare time, cost, materials, and labor estimates.
    • 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.
    • Prepare estimates used by management for purposes such as planning, organizing, and scheduling work.
    • 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.
    • Review material and labor requirements to decide whether it is more cost-effective to produce or purchase components.
    • Set up cost monitoring and reporting systems and procedures.
    • Confer with engineers, architects, owners, contractors, and subcontractors on changes and adjustments to cost estimates.
    • Prepare estimates for use in selecting vendors or subcontractors.
    • Collect historical cost data to estimate costs for current or future products.
    • Prepare and maintain a directory of suppliers, contractors and subcontractors.
    • Prepare cost and expenditure statements and other necessary documentation at regular intervals for the duration of the project.

    Skills

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Operations Monitoring

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

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Learning Strategies

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

    • 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.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Complex Problem Solving

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

    • Operations Analysis

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

    • Equipment Selection

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

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Systems Analysis

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

    • Systems Evaluation

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

    • Judgment and Decision Making

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

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Monitoring

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

    • 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.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Critical Thinking

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

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Troubleshooting

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

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    6
    Workplace Documents
    5
    Graphic Literacy
    6

    Abilities

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Extent Flexibility

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

    • Rate Control

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

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Perceptual Speed

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

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • 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.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Glare Sensitivity

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

    • Response Orientation

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

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Reaction Time

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

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

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

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Inductive Reasoning

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

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Auditory Attention

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

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Gross Body Coordination

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

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Control Precision

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

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Visualization

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

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

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

    • 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

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • Biology

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

    • Food Production

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

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • Fine Arts

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

    • 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.

    • Design

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

    • Mechanical

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

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

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

    • Mathematics

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

    • Telecommunications

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

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    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:
    • Attention to Detail
    • Integrity
    • Analytical Thinking
    • Dependability
    • Cooperation
    • Persistence

    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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