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.
224,220 people do this job in the US. $78,740 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 92%
- 6%
- 1%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 5%. Today's estimate: 9%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 14 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Analyze blueprints and other documentation to prepare time, cost, materials, and labor estimates.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 38% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 2.5 work days | 8%Half by Sep 2027 | |
| Conduct special studies to develop and establish standard hour and related cost data or to reduce cost.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 16% | 2.5 work days6.7 h to 1.7 work weeks | 0%Half by Jun 2028 | |
| Prepare estimates for use in selecting vendors or subcontractors.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 10% | 5 h1.3 h to 1.7 work days | 14%Half by Jun 2027 | |
| Establish and maintain tendering process, and conduct negotiations.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 7% | 1.3 work days3.3 h to 3.3 work days | 3%Half by Nov 2027 | |
| Confer with engineers, architects, owners, contractors, and subcontractors on changes and adjustments to cost estimates.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Review material and labor requirements to decide whether it is more cost-effective to produce or purchase components.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 4% | 3.3 h50 min to 1.3 work days | 25%Half by Mar 2027 | |
| Set up cost monitoring and reporting systems and procedures.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 4% | 1.3 work days3.3 h to 3.3 work days | 3%Half by Nov 2027 | |
| Assess cost effectiveness of products, projects or services, tracking actual costs relative to bids as the project develops.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 4% | 3.3 h50 min to 1.7 work days | 21%Half by May 2027 | |
| Collect historical cost data to estimate costs for current or future products.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 4% | 3.3 h50 min to 1.3 work days | 25%Half by Mar 2027 | |
| Prepare estimates used by management for purposes such as planning, organizing, and scheduling work.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 3.3 h50 min to 1.3 work days | 25%Half by Mar 2027 | |
| Consult with clients, vendors, personnel in other departments, or construction foremen to discuss and formulate estimates and resolve issues.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 2% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Prepare and maintain a directory of suppliers, contractors and subcontractors.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 2% | 3.3 h50 min to 1.3 work days | 25%Half by Mar 2027 |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Logistics Engineers3% now, 73% by 2028
- Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians21% now, 76% by 2028
- Construction Managers11% now, 53% by 2028
- Industrial Engineers16% now, 94% by 2028
- Architectural and Engineering Managers12% now, 69% by 2028
- Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks63% now, 86% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).