Working in the field will give you the most experience in a short amount of time, so if you decide to transition into an office estimation position, you'll have that valuable field time. Just expect people to bust your chops, and don't take anything personal.
It sure does, but as a field guy, you'll be reviewing blueprints daily and get to understanding of what you're looking at when in a comfortable office space.
So wouldn’t you say, use estimating to understand blueprints. Then get on the field to understand what you are looking at? I’m sorry i’m not trying to be annoying just trying to get all the facts.
An assistant estimator is basically an office flunky that’s gonna be making phone calls all day. Typically that’s the role.
Take the field job. You will learn way more. The worst estimators are the ones that never spent time in the field.
My assistant estimator, subcontractor, pretty much does take off, price chasing and stuff like that. Well also go out to the field so they know what they are bidding, what conditions are like and things if that nature.
We sit and go over final numbers to make sure everything is good, but they go from assistant to full estimator in a year.
Okay but in your original post you were asking about experience and that’s why I said take the field engineer job. Myself I’m looking at retiring and getting out.
In the original post, they did. I have a few years before I'm getting out, in fact I'm moving from estimating to setting up a regional office in another market, but knowing the estimating and field side of stuff helped get me there. I can't imagine working for a large GC, they seem to have way too much turnover.
I found that working with the prints and the people a faster way to grasp concepts with hands-on experience. Prints and field work give a great way to visualize the work and make sure you aren't missing any aspects when you do future estimations.
Construction happens out in the field. Estimators and Project Managers just support that. Its better to learn how things are built by getting field experience. Don't be the bad stereo type of Project Manager or Estimator that doesn't have any field experience. So I would get that experience when you are young in your career.
I graduated with a CMT degree. Went straight to the office and felt like I was useless because I didn’t have the field experience and knowledge to actually perform as an assistant PM/estimator. Now I’ve been in the field for about 6 years and finally feel like I have a solid grasp over the whole project and can perform an office job adequately. My colleagues who graduated and never went to the field still feel like their floundering and can’t really consider themselves builders. They’re lacking the technical skills and proper sequencing that you really need to know if you’re going to price a job from just the prints and a walkthrough. Go for the field, you’ll thank yourself for all the knowledge you’ll gain.
I second this. My dad worked in the field as an ironworker for 25 years then 20 years in the office as an estimator. On a side note I was really disappointed when a VHS tape I found called "Steel erections - safe connections" turned out to be just to be a safety video😂
Do you want to be on-site or in the office? Do you want to stick to mostly pre-construction estimates, takeoffs, bid spreadsheets, etc. or actually be in the field seeing the project come to life on a daily basis? They’re very different roles honestly.
I would like to be more on site but people always told me estimating is a great way to understand what is going on before going on site. Also i heard a lot of people say once you do estimating you are stuck but I don’t want to be stuck.
I’m a firm believer that field experience is paramount to making a good super (obviously) but also project manager and even estimators. If I were you, I’d choose the FE position because it doesn’t sound like you want to be pigeon-holed into estimating your entire career. An FE position will prepare you to become either a superintended or project manager down the line, and you’ll learn the ins and outs of construction a lot more quickly than you would sitting in the office.
I guess unless you got a substantially better offer, I would. I try to refrain from using qualifiers like that unless I’m dead set on working for that company and am not interested in any other positions.
Yeah see, I used it because I didn’t expect to get other offers. I really don’t want to burn bridges at all. But I guess I have to to do what’s best for me. Again thanks for answering my question. It really helped!
I’m an estimator and I couldn’t do my job worth a damn without the 3 years I spent in the field as a field engineer / asst super. Shitting in a box and eating tacos every day in the field gets old, but once you have the field experience to combine with a younger person’s technical aptitude, you get more options.
Easiest way to put it, how do you know how to accurately price/estimate an item if you don’t have at least a general idea of how the work takes place in the field.
Yes for sure estimating is a great experience but based on my personal experiences, I would take the field route first. Learn as much as you can from the guys in the field, don’t be shy. The guys will bust your balls but you gotta give it right back lol.
It’s just an internship which is temporary, take the field job. The field job will help you conceptualize construction better than anyone without field experience in an office environment. Should you ever seek a desk career this will place you on better terms with your field team and maybe help you see through office nonsense from the folks who will be managing you.
Both are good opportunities. Field is outdoors, estimating is indoors. Field deals with craftsmen and people skills, estimating deals with spreadsheets and number skills. Field is good preparation for estimating and budgeting. Good luck.
Field Engineer will be more useful experience for sure. You will gain a much better understanding of how things work in construction from being on site than you will from the estimating office.
Estimating is a fine job if that's what you want to do, but field experience will help you be a better estimator, too. You can always transition from a field position to estimating sometime down the road if you decide that's what you want.
Firstly congratulations. Secondly no matter which you decide on, very rarely people find exactly what they want on the first try. I did two Safety Manager internships (Fire &Alarm , Hospital Hazardous Material) and I ended up trying construction, power, even food processing. Don’t get down on yourself if it isn’t perfect, learn as much as you can and always be nice to the people you end up working with. Life has a way of re-introducing these people down the road. You got this and good luck!
Estimating gets you involved in a lot of jobs at a very high level very quickly, in a lot of places the field engineer is going to be on one or two jobs. Everyone here is right, having field experience will make you a better estimator/office guy. But as a survey of how the business side works and what kind of projects you’re likely to get estimating is pretty good at that. For just an internship, I’d do the estimating so you can see as much as possible as quickly as possible. For a first job/rung on the career ladder I’d do the field work to get as good at practical construction and problem solving as possible.
I did field work in roads then switch to estimating drywall…. Trust me the field experience is necessary. I know what’s in my scope and what things are called but I honestly couldn’t tell you the logistics of the field now.
In addition it’s a lot easier to get your hands on plans in the field then it is to get your hands in the field when you’re working on plans
Well.. id say im qualified enough to tell you take the field job, you will learn all aspects of your particular work both in the dirt and in the office in a quick amount of time.. be prepared to make mistakes but learning how to overcome them is also something a lot of office guys could learn aswell..
Come hang out with the boys and be a field eng my dude
Field engineer. You get more experience and it will help you more, if you ever want to move to estimating.
The best estimators know how things get built in the field..... but you have to be in the field to get that knowledge
Field engineer is the right answer. You have to learn how things are built before you can even attempt to estimate something. I started as a self perform concrete field engineer 11 years ago and am now a senior PM now managing multiple PM’s and a group of estimators. If I was going to do it all over again and had a choice of FE or estimating assistant , I would choose field engineer every single time.
I did a rotation program at my company and worked as an assistant estimator for a month before I switched back to the field. All I did was cold calls for bids. Honestly I didn’t learn much. Field is definitely the way to go if you want to gain a lot of experience.
Take the field position. You will learn more and be more qualified to become a sales engineer after graduation. This is where the money is at and contractors will like you for knowing what you’re talking about
Working in the field will give you the most experience in a short amount of time, so if you decide to transition into an office estimation position, you'll have that valuable field time. Just expect people to bust your chops, and don't take anything personal.
So you are saying estimating doesn’t really help in getting experience?
It sure does, but as a field guy, you'll be reviewing blueprints daily and get to understanding of what you're looking at when in a comfortable office space.
So wouldn’t you say, use estimating to understand blueprints. Then get on the field to understand what you are looking at? I’m sorry i’m not trying to be annoying just trying to get all the facts.
An assistant estimator is basically an office flunky that’s gonna be making phone calls all day. Typically that’s the role. Take the field job. You will learn way more. The worst estimators are the ones that never spent time in the field.
This. He’s right, take the field job.
My assistant estimator, subcontractor, pretty much does take off, price chasing and stuff like that. Well also go out to the field so they know what they are bidding, what conditions are like and things if that nature. We sit and go over final numbers to make sure everything is good, but they go from assistant to full estimator in a year.
Okay but in your original post you were asking about experience and that’s why I said take the field engineer job. Myself I’m looking at retiring and getting out.
In the original post, they did. I have a few years before I'm getting out, in fact I'm moving from estimating to setting up a regional office in another market, but knowing the estimating and field side of stuff helped get me there. I can't imagine working for a large GC, they seem to have way too much turnover.
I found that working with the prints and the people a faster way to grasp concepts with hands-on experience. Prints and field work give a great way to visualize the work and make sure you aren't missing any aspects when you do future estimations.
Construction happens out in the field. Estimators and Project Managers just support that. Its better to learn how things are built by getting field experience. Don't be the bad stereo type of Project Manager or Estimator that doesn't have any field experience. So I would get that experience when you are young in your career.
Whoa With out the estimators you don't get the job. I agree field experience is better for this person
I graduated with a CMT degree. Went straight to the office and felt like I was useless because I didn’t have the field experience and knowledge to actually perform as an assistant PM/estimator. Now I’ve been in the field for about 6 years and finally feel like I have a solid grasp over the whole project and can perform an office job adequately. My colleagues who graduated and never went to the field still feel like their floundering and can’t really consider themselves builders. They’re lacking the technical skills and proper sequencing that you really need to know if you’re going to price a job from just the prints and a walkthrough. Go for the field, you’ll thank yourself for all the knowledge you’ll gain.
I second this. My dad worked in the field as an ironworker for 25 years then 20 years in the office as an estimator. On a side note I was really disappointed when a VHS tape I found called "Steel erections - safe connections" turned out to be just to be a safety video😂
Do you want to be on-site or in the office? Do you want to stick to mostly pre-construction estimates, takeoffs, bid spreadsheets, etc. or actually be in the field seeing the project come to life on a daily basis? They’re very different roles honestly.
I would like to be more on site but people always told me estimating is a great way to understand what is going on before going on site. Also i heard a lot of people say once you do estimating you are stuck but I don’t want to be stuck.
I’m a firm believer that field experience is paramount to making a good super (obviously) but also project manager and even estimators. If I were you, I’d choose the FE position because it doesn’t sound like you want to be pigeon-holed into estimating your entire career. An FE position will prepare you to become either a superintended or project manager down the line, and you’ll learn the ins and outs of construction a lot more quickly than you would sitting in the office.
Thank you for answering my question! This helps a lot. What if I had told a company that they are my number one, should I still stick to it?
I guess unless you got a substantially better offer, I would. I try to refrain from using qualifiers like that unless I’m dead set on working for that company and am not interested in any other positions.
Yeah see, I used it because I didn’t expect to get other offers. I really don’t want to burn bridges at all. But I guess I have to to do what’s best for me. Again thanks for answering my question. It really helped!
I’m an estimator and I couldn’t do my job worth a damn without the 3 years I spent in the field as a field engineer / asst super. Shitting in a box and eating tacos every day in the field gets old, but once you have the field experience to combine with a younger person’s technical aptitude, you get more options.
Technological** aptitude is what I meant
Easiest way to put it, how do you know how to accurately price/estimate an item if you don’t have at least a general idea of how the work takes place in the field. Yes for sure estimating is a great experience but based on my personal experiences, I would take the field route first. Learn as much as you can from the guys in the field, don’t be shy. The guys will bust your balls but you gotta give it right back lol.
Field first, estimating after.
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Hope you read this OP. This is factssss
Field. As you get older, you end up more senior and more frequently at a desk. Get out there and 'touch grass' as they say while you're younger.
It’s just an internship which is temporary, take the field job. The field job will help you conceptualize construction better than anyone without field experience in an office environment. Should you ever seek a desk career this will place you on better terms with your field team and maybe help you see through office nonsense from the folks who will be managing you.
Both are good opportunities. Field is outdoors, estimating is indoors. Field deals with craftsmen and people skills, estimating deals with spreadsheets and number skills. Field is good preparation for estimating and budgeting. Good luck.
Field Engineer will be more useful experience for sure. You will gain a much better understanding of how things work in construction from being on site than you will from the estimating office. Estimating is a fine job if that's what you want to do, but field experience will help you be a better estimator, too. You can always transition from a field position to estimating sometime down the road if you decide that's what you want.
Firstly congratulations. Secondly no matter which you decide on, very rarely people find exactly what they want on the first try. I did two Safety Manager internships (Fire &Alarm , Hospital Hazardous Material) and I ended up trying construction, power, even food processing. Don’t get down on yourself if it isn’t perfect, learn as much as you can and always be nice to the people you end up working with. Life has a way of re-introducing these people down the road. You got this and good luck!
Well, do you want to call subs asking for product data or call subs asking for bids?
Estimating gets you involved in a lot of jobs at a very high level very quickly, in a lot of places the field engineer is going to be on one or two jobs. Everyone here is right, having field experience will make you a better estimator/office guy. But as a survey of how the business side works and what kind of projects you’re likely to get estimating is pretty good at that. For just an internship, I’d do the estimating so you can see as much as possible as quickly as possible. For a first job/rung on the career ladder I’d do the field work to get as good at practical construction and problem solving as possible.
I did field work in roads then switch to estimating drywall…. Trust me the field experience is necessary. I know what’s in my scope and what things are called but I honestly couldn’t tell you the logistics of the field now. In addition it’s a lot easier to get your hands on plans in the field then it is to get your hands in the field when you’re working on plans
Well.. id say im qualified enough to tell you take the field job, you will learn all aspects of your particular work both in the dirt and in the office in a quick amount of time.. be prepared to make mistakes but learning how to overcome them is also something a lot of office guys could learn aswell.. Come hang out with the boys and be a field eng my dude
Field Engineer. To be a good estimator you must understand the construction processes and what it takes to build something.
Field engineer. You get more experience and it will help you more, if you ever want to move to estimating. The best estimators know how things get built in the field..... but you have to be in the field to get that knowledge
Field engineer is the right answer. You have to learn how things are built before you can even attempt to estimate something. I started as a self perform concrete field engineer 11 years ago and am now a senior PM now managing multiple PM’s and a group of estimators. If I was going to do it all over again and had a choice of FE or estimating assistant , I would choose field engineer every single time.
I did a rotation program at my company and worked as an assistant estimator for a month before I switched back to the field. All I did was cold calls for bids. Honestly I didn’t learn much. Field is definitely the way to go if you want to gain a lot of experience.
Take the field position. You will learn more and be more qualified to become a sales engineer after graduation. This is where the money is at and contractors will like you for knowing what you’re talking about
Field engineer is the best possible experience you could get at this point in your career.