Cost Estimators
On the Job
Cost Estimators prepare cost estimates for manufacturing or construction products. They may specialize in a particular service or type of product.
Typical Work Tasks
People who work in this career often:
- Analyze business or financial data.
- Confer with others about financial matters.
- Confer with personnel to coordinate business operations.
- Estimate costs of goods or services.
- Maintain data in information systems or databases.
- Prepare financial documents.
- Assess the cost effectiveness of products, projects, or services.
- Negotiate agreements to resolve disputes.
- Develop business or financial information systems.
- Establish business management methods.
Typical Working Conditions
- Using e-mail.
- Working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions.
- The importance of being accurate or exact.
- Sitting.
- Making decisions that impact co-workers or company results.
- Working with a group or team.
- Meeting strict deadlines.
- High levels of competition.

This page includes information from the O*NET 24.2 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.
Source: You can learn about our data sources in the About Us section.