Cost Estimator Career Assessment
Figuring out what a job will cost before anyone starts it
Welcome
Cost estimators work out what a project will cost — the materials, the labor hours, the equipment, and the profit — so a company can put in a bid.
This job rewards people who have actually done the work being priced. You will explore what it is really like and whether it fits you.
This takes about 15 minutes.
What is a Cost Estimator?
A cost estimator reads plans and drawings, counts up everything the job will need, and prices it. This counting step is called a takeoff. Then they add labor hours, equipment, overhead, and profit to build a bid, which is the price a company offers to do the work. Most estimators work in construction. Others price manufactured parts, repairs, or service contracts.
The Reality: Estimators almost always come from the trade they estimate for. Carpenters, electricians, plumbers, welders, machinists, and heavy equipment operators move into this job because they already know how long a task takes and what goes wrong. That is the whole value of the job, and no classroom teaches it as well as ten years on a crew. If you have hands-on construction or manufacturing experience, you have a real advantage here that a business graduate does not have. If you have never been on a job site, expect a longer road: a construction management degree plus time as an estimating assistant. Also be honest about the pressure — if your number is too high you lose the job, and if it is too low the company loses money and everyone knows whose number it was.
Your Responsibilities:
- Read blueprints, drawings, and specifications
- Count materials and quantities from the plans (the takeoff)
- Price materials by calling suppliers for current costs
- Estimate labor hours and crew sizes for each task
- Add equipment, overhead, and profit to build the bid
- Visit job sites to check conditions the plans do not show
- Track whether past bids matched what jobs actually cost
- Prepare bid packages and meet the submission deadline
You put a number on work that has not happened yet, and the company bets on it.
A Day in the Life
7:00 AM — Open the plan set for a school addition. Bid is due Thursday.
7:30 AM — Start the takeoff: count footings, walls, and doors from the drawings.
9:30 AM — Call three suppliers for current steel and concrete prices.
11:00 AM — Drive out to the site to see the ground and the access road.
12:30 PM — Lunch in the truck.
1:00 PM — Build the labor hours with the superintendent's input.
3:00 PM — Add overhead and profit. Check the math twice.
4:30 PM — Compare this bid to what a similar job actually cost last year.
Mostly desk and computer work, with site visits and a hard deadline every time.
Training in North Dakota
Trade experience is the real qualification. A construction management degree speeds it up. There is no license for this job. North Dakota contractors regularly promote an experienced tradesperson or foreman into estimating because that person already knows the work. A two-year construction management degree adds the plan reading, software, and bidding steps. A four-year degree is what large general contractors and engineering firms ask for.
Training Pathways:
- Move up from the trade (fastest if you already work in one): Keep your trade job and ask to help price small jobs or do takeoffs. Many contractors will train you on the estimating software. Your years on the crew are the qualification.
- Two-year degree (2 years): A construction management technology or architectural design associate degree. You learn plan reading, estimating, scheduling, and the software, and you can do it after a trade background or instead of one.
- Four-year degree (4 years): A construction management bachelor's degree. This is what large general contractors and engineering firms ask for, and it opens project manager jobs later.
Where to Train in North Dakota:
- Bismarck State College (Bismarck) — Construction Management Technology, AAS, 2 years, on campus. BSC states the program covers estimating, planning and scheduling, and inspection, and names cost estimator among the jobs graduates take — bismarckstate.edu
- North Dakota State College of Science (Wahpeton) — Architectural Modeling and Design Technology, AAS, 71 credits, 2 years, face-to-face with some classes online. Required coursework includes CMT 144 Construction Estimating I — catalog.ndscs.edu
- North Dakota State University (Fargo) — Construction Management Major, B.S.Cons.M., minimum 123 credits. Core courses include CM&E 240 Financial Cost Concepts for Construction Managers and CM&E 380 Construction Estimating: Quantities and Costs — catalog.ndsu.edu
- North Dakota State College of Science (Wahpeton) — the trade programs themselves (electrical, plumbing, welding, building construction) are a legitimate first step, because the trade knowledge is what an estimator is paid for — ndscs.edu
Before You Start: High school diploma or GED. You need solid everyday math: fractions, area, volume, and percentages. You need to read a tape measure and a scale drawing. Strong spreadsheet skills matter, and estimating software is learned on the job.
Tip: Start with financial aid, scholarships, and any help an employer offers — that is where the money starts. After that, ask a career counselor or Job Service North Dakota whether WIOA or other programs can help with what is left over, like training, tools, work boots, or exam fees. What can be paid for depends on the program and on your own situation, so ask before you sign up rather than after. Registered apprenticeships let you earn a paycheck while you learn — see jobsnd.com/job-seeker/apprenticeships for ND programs.
Certification & Licensing
No license is required. The certificates all require years of experience, which is the point. Two groups matter here: AACE International, which certifies cost engineering and estimating, and ASPE, the American Society of Professional Estimators, which focuses on construction estimating.
Credentials You Might Get:
- CCT (AACE) — Certified Cost Technician, the entry-level one. You need 4 years of industry-related professional experience, or 4 years of industry-related degree coursework. The exam is 3 hours, 100 multiple-choice questions, open book using AACE's own primer, and you need 70% to pass. Fees are $260 for members and $390 for nonmembers. Important: it is valid for 4 years and cannot be renewed with continuing education — you retake the exam (aacei.org)
- CEP (AACE) — Certified Estimating Professional. You need 8 years of industry-related experience, or 4 years plus a 4-year industry-related degree. The exam is up to 5 hours with 119 questions across Basic Estimating Knowledge, Complex Estimating Problems, Estimating Process & Practices, and one memo-writing task. You need a 70% overall average. Fees are $525 for members and $690 for nonmembers. Valid 3 years, renewed with 12 CEUs across at least two categories (aacei.org)
- CCP (AACE) — Certified Cost Professional, AACE's broader professional-level cost credential. AACE lists it at the professional level alongside the CEP. Check the requirements on AACE's own CCP page before you apply, because this guide could not confirm them (aacei.org)
- CPE (ASPE) — Certified Professional Estimator. You must provide employer contact information to verify 5 years of on-the-job experience as an estimator. You complete a technical paper, a General Estimating Knowledge exam, and a Discipline Specific Test. Fees are $655 for members and $790 for nonmembers, and the work is self-paced over 3 to 6 months. The CPE is accredited by the Council of Engineering and Scientific Specialty Boards (aspenational.org)
- AEP (ASPE) — Associate Estimating Professional. ASPE describes it as the stepping stone toward the CPE, meant for early-career estimators (aspenational.org)
The Exams: AACE's CCT is open book with AACE's own materials and needs 70% to pass. The CEP is closed book, also 70%. ASPE's CPE is not a single exam — it is a technical paper plus two tests, done at your own pace. All of them let you bring a battery-operated calculator, which you supply yourself.
Cost: AACE lists the CCT at $260 for members and $390 for nonmembers, with a $185 resit. The CEP is $525 for members and $690 for nonmembers, with a $260 resit. ASPE lists the CPE at $655 for members and $790 for nonmembers. All fees are nonrefundable. Ask a career counselor whether exam fees can be covered.
Keeping It Current: The AACE CEP is valid 3 years and renewed with 12 CEUs. The AACE CCT is valid 4 years and cannot be renewed with continuing education — you must retake the exam. Check ASPE for current CPE renewal rules.
Salary & Job Outlook
North Dakota Cost Estimator Pay (May 2025):
- Starting out (bottom 10–25%): $25.35–$29.33/hour ($52,730–$61,010/year)
- Middle (median — half earn more, half earn less): $35.23/hour ($73,280/year)
- Experienced (top 25–10%): $41.32–$50.02/hour ($85,940–$104,050/year)
What that means: The middle North Dakota cost estimator earns about $35.23 an hour, or about $73,280 a year. The national middle is about $37.86, so North Dakota runs a little below. The bigger gap is at the top: North Dakota's top tenth is about $50.02 an hour against about $62.90 nationally, because the largest bids are written at big out-of-state firms. Two honest warnings. First, this is usually salaried work, and bid weeks mean long hours you do not get paid extra for. Second, some estimator jobs pay a bonus tied to jobs won, so a posted salary may not be the whole picture — ask.
Jobs in North Dakota: About 620 people do this work in ND today. By 2034, that should be about 620 (about 1% decline — essentially flat). Expect about 50 job openings every year in ND from growth and people retiring or changing jobs. Across the U.S., the change is about 4% decline.
Outlook: Flat, not growing. North Dakota expects the same number of these jobs in 2034 as today, and the country expects a small decline. But there are still about 50 openings a year in North Dakota, and nearly all of them come from people retiring. Estimating software is doing more of the counting, which is part of why the numbers are not growing. Judgment about how long work really takes is the part software cannot do.
Who Hires in ND: General contractors and construction companies, electrical, mechanical, and plumbing contractors, heavy and highway contractors, manufacturers and fabrication shops, engineering firms, and utilities.
Work Setting: An office, usually inside a contractor's shop or trailer. Mostly indoors at a desk with two screens and a plan table. You will drive out to job sites regularly, in all weather. Some estimators travel across the state for site walks and bid openings.
Physical Demands: Low to moderate. Mostly sitting and computer work, plus walking uneven job sites and climbing in and out of a truck. Good near vision helps for reading plans. A large second monitor, plan-viewing software with zoom, and a good chair are common and reasonable requests.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, North Dakota, May 2025 (SOC 13-1051); North Dakota and U.S. long-term employment projections 2024–2034, via O*NET OnLine. Numbers are rounded.
Where This Leads
Path 1: Tradesperson or Foreman — Where most estimators start, and the real qualification.
Path 2: Estimating Assistant — Do takeoffs and price lookups for a senior estimator.
Path 3: Cost Estimator — Own your own bids.
Path 4: Senior or Chief Estimator — Bigger jobs and you check other people's numbers.
Path 5: Project Manager — Run the job you helped win.
Path 6: Owner or Partner — Many contractors came up through estimating.
The Real Talk
What's Great:
- Trade experience is worth more than a degree here
- A way off the tools that keeps your knowledge valuable
- Indoor work with real variety
- About 50 ND openings a year from retirements
- A clear step toward project manager
- You see exactly how a business makes money
What's Hard:
- The job is flat, not growing
- Bid deadlines mean long weeks
- A wrong number costs the company real money
- You may lose bids you worked hard on
- ND pay runs below the national middle
- Hard to enter without job site experience
Be Honest: Can you live with the pressure of being the person whose number was wrong? Can you meet a hard deadline every single time? Do you have enough job site or shop experience to know how long work really takes — and if not, are you willing to get it?