How to hire cost estimators
A job description you can copy, interview questions tied to the real work, and what to pay. Free.
Job description template
Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.
[Job title] at [Company name] [City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range] About the role [Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.] What you will do • Analyze blueprints and other documentation to prepare time, cost, materials, and labor estimates. • Assess cost effectiveness of products, projects or services, tracking actual costs relative to bids as the project develops. • Collect historical cost data to estimate costs for current or future products. • 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. • 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. What you bring • [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any] • [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: Bachelor's degree] • Strong mathematics, reading comprehension, speaking, active listening, critical thinking and writing skills • Working knowledge of mathematics, economics and accounting and computers and electronics • [Anything else you would really turn someone away for] Pay and benefits [Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $37.86 an hour ($78,740 a year). [Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.] How to apply [Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]
Interview questions for cost estimators
Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.
- Tell me about a time you had to analyze blueprints and other documentation to prepare time, cost, materials, and labor estimates. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- Tell me about a time you had to assess cost effectiveness of products, projects or services, tracking actual costs relative to bids as the project develops. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- Tell me about a time you had to collect historical cost data to estimate costs for current or future products. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- Tell me about a time you had to confer with engineers, architects, owners, contractors, and subcontractors on changes and adjustments to cost estimates. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- Walk me through a calculation you do regularly at work and how you check it.
- Tell me about written instructions, a policy or a manual you had to follow closely. How did you make sure you followed it correctly?
- Explain something technical from your last job as you would to a new coworker.
- Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?
Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.
What cost estimators do
- Analyze blueprints and other documentation to prepare time, cost, materials, and labor estimates.
- Assess cost effectiveness of products, projects or services, tracking actual costs relative to bids as the project develops.
- Collect historical cost data to estimate costs for current or future products.
- 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.
- 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.
Skills that matter most
Education, experience and outlook for cost estimators
- Typical education to start: Bachelor's degree (BLS)
- Training on the job: Moderate-term on-the-job training (BLS)
- Job outlook: -3.1% over ten years, declining · about 17,600 openings a year (BLS)
What to pay cost estimators
Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:
| State | Median yearly pay |
|---|---|
| Massachusetts | $100,840 |
| Colorado | $86,940 |
| Washington | $86,070 |
| California | $85,460 |
| Illinois | $82,750 |
| Oklahoma | $67,800 |
| New Mexico | $67,590 |
| Arkansas | $61,470 |
See cost estimators pay in every state
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Post this job on JAI Bot. Free to start: JAI Bot reads every applicant against your must-haves, shows the resume evidence behind each one, and helps you reply to everyone. People make every decision.
Post a job freePay by areaJob duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.