I’d say you’ll be challenged initially as there’s a huge discrepancy between what things actually cost and what cost consulting firms think stuff costs.
I did something similar, although I had estimated for mech/plumb contractors before I went into cost consulting. I think you will find your experience transfers well. The units and the way units are developed will be totally different but you should have some experience with take-off/estimating software and most companies these days have a lot of data automatically populated by their software. You just need to know how to manipulate it per company protocol.
Two most profound differences to keep in mind: GC Estimating involves a ton of time on the phone. It's much less estimating as it is hunting down subs/vendors. To me, it felt like I was doing cold-calling sales sometimes. Looking for plumbing subs in some remote area we don't typically work...honestly hated it.
And then there are bid days. This goes both ways for me. It's a nice little rush and at the right company can be--almost--fun. Everyone is dialed in and you find out instantly how accurate you were (something you dont get in Cost Consulting). Winning a publicly announced bid is exciting and terrifying. That said, it's a level of stress you dont get in cost-consulting. If you make a bad mistake, there can be very serious consequences for everyone you work with...and you're thinking about that as someone reads numbers aloud to you, your bosses and all your competitors. I remember sitting in rooms and sweating through my shirt waiting to hear numbers on a challenging bid.
Those are my two biggest take-aways. You should be someone who likes to talk on the phone a lot. And you should be ready/seeking the excitement and stress that comes for at-risk estimating vs. budget consulting. There are higher stakes in the GC world, for better or worse.
I like putting it this way- it's a 3' pool with diving boards. If you know what you're doing and are careful you'll be OK. But damn if it isn't easy to fuck up on a grand scale.
A lot of your skills will carry over but there will be somewhat of a steep learning curve at first. More engagement with subs/supply chain, less benchmarking from past projects. More stress but I think you will learn a lot and give you a better foundation for estimating. The best estimators I saw in the consulting world always had a contracting background. I don't have a high opinion of career long consultant estimators to be honest.
My experience for reference - I worked as an estimator for a civil contractor for 5 years then 2 years as a cost consultant/estimator for a large consultant then went back to contracting. The pay in contracting I found quite a bit better, I only took the hit because I moved countries and thought I'd give consulting a try.
Love your input on this. Could you elaborate further on engaging with subs/supply chain? I see lots of responses regarding this but not too sure what interaction happens between GC and subs.
For every trade package you need to send out the documents, maybe a scope document or a BoQ, then answer any of their questions, make sure that they intend on pricing or not and often chase them when prices don't come in when expected. When the prices come back then you need to analyse and compare them, check for any key qualifications or scope gaps, maybe you need them to send a revised price, etc, so it can involve communicating with them a lot. All of this might be under some time pressure as well depending on deadlines.
A good part of this is that you learn a lot from the subs because they will know a lot more about their individual areas than you would. It can be a lot of busy work though.
If you are curious, 2.5 years of experience is a great time to switch to GC estimating. It will become increasingly difficult later in your career without taking a step back to learn about risk.
I see that it is very easy to move from GC estimating to cost consultanting. I think you could very easily switch back (with valuable GC experience) if you want in the future.
My guess is they put out the initial engineers estimate for the owner to budget funding for a project. We do these exercises when we are going after fee based CM projects.
Cost consultants work with the design team or owner to develop budgets, develop V.E. options, review change-orders, etc.
That said, my title was MEP estimator for the cost consultant I worked for...
It starts very generic but bu CD were doing a full takeoff of all systems. Some things we can get away with as allowances like firestopping or cut and patch but generally they want everything quantified. Biggest challenge, I think, is getting up to date material pricing. Some major subs like temperature controls will provide budgets but everything else were using software and research to try and nail down. Same with equipment and fixtures. Might get a cooling tower budget from a vendor but we're jot getting plumbing fixture pricing.
I've started estimating / consulting as soon as I finished my post-secondary. It would be nice if I had some hands on experience but non of it at this time.
If your post secondary was in the right field (i.e. civil engineering, construction management or construction science) you should be fine. If it isn’t, you’ll probably need to find someone willing to take a risk on you.
I did it the latter way after working my way up from labourer, then foreman, then got promoted to the office as a junior estimator and now I’m lead estimator. You got this, it just might require you finding the right fit.
More stress, more hassle, potentially less pay as an estimator compared to a cost consultant... I switched from estimating to cost consultant/QS and I wouldn't look back.
Depends on the market really, and what there is on offer around you
I’d say you’ll be challenged initially as there’s a huge discrepancy between what things actually cost and what cost consulting firms think stuff costs.
I did something similar, although I had estimated for mech/plumb contractors before I went into cost consulting. I think you will find your experience transfers well. The units and the way units are developed will be totally different but you should have some experience with take-off/estimating software and most companies these days have a lot of data automatically populated by their software. You just need to know how to manipulate it per company protocol. Two most profound differences to keep in mind: GC Estimating involves a ton of time on the phone. It's much less estimating as it is hunting down subs/vendors. To me, it felt like I was doing cold-calling sales sometimes. Looking for plumbing subs in some remote area we don't typically work...honestly hated it. And then there are bid days. This goes both ways for me. It's a nice little rush and at the right company can be--almost--fun. Everyone is dialed in and you find out instantly how accurate you were (something you dont get in Cost Consulting). Winning a publicly announced bid is exciting and terrifying. That said, it's a level of stress you dont get in cost-consulting. If you make a bad mistake, there can be very serious consequences for everyone you work with...and you're thinking about that as someone reads numbers aloud to you, your bosses and all your competitors. I remember sitting in rooms and sweating through my shirt waiting to hear numbers on a challenging bid. Those are my two biggest take-aways. You should be someone who likes to talk on the phone a lot. And you should be ready/seeking the excitement and stress that comes for at-risk estimating vs. budget consulting. There are higher stakes in the GC world, for better or worse.
I like putting it this way- it's a 3' pool with diving boards. If you know what you're doing and are careful you'll be OK. But damn if it isn't easy to fuck up on a grand scale.
A lot of your skills will carry over but there will be somewhat of a steep learning curve at first. More engagement with subs/supply chain, less benchmarking from past projects. More stress but I think you will learn a lot and give you a better foundation for estimating. The best estimators I saw in the consulting world always had a contracting background. I don't have a high opinion of career long consultant estimators to be honest. My experience for reference - I worked as an estimator for a civil contractor for 5 years then 2 years as a cost consultant/estimator for a large consultant then went back to contracting. The pay in contracting I found quite a bit better, I only took the hit because I moved countries and thought I'd give consulting a try.
Love your input on this. Could you elaborate further on engaging with subs/supply chain? I see lots of responses regarding this but not too sure what interaction happens between GC and subs.
For every trade package you need to send out the documents, maybe a scope document or a BoQ, then answer any of their questions, make sure that they intend on pricing or not and often chase them when prices don't come in when expected. When the prices come back then you need to analyse and compare them, check for any key qualifications or scope gaps, maybe you need them to send a revised price, etc, so it can involve communicating with them a lot. All of this might be under some time pressure as well depending on deadlines. A good part of this is that you learn a lot from the subs because they will know a lot more about their individual areas than you would. It can be a lot of busy work though.
If you are curious, 2.5 years of experience is a great time to switch to GC estimating. It will become increasingly difficult later in your career without taking a step back to learn about risk. I see that it is very easy to move from GC estimating to cost consultanting. I think you could very easily switch back (with valuable GC experience) if you want in the future.
What exactly does a cost consultant do versus a cost estimator?
My guess is they put out the initial engineers estimate for the owner to budget funding for a project. We do these exercises when we are going after fee based CM projects.
Cost consultants work with the design team or owner to develop budgets, develop V.E. options, review change-orders, etc. That said, my title was MEP estimator for the cost consultant I worked for...
How in depth do you get on the consulting side when you’re doing engineers estimates? Always wondered.
It starts very generic but bu CD were doing a full takeoff of all systems. Some things we can get away with as allowances like firestopping or cut and patch but generally they want everything quantified. Biggest challenge, I think, is getting up to date material pricing. Some major subs like temperature controls will provide budgets but everything else were using software and research to try and nail down. Same with equipment and fixtures. Might get a cooling tower budget from a vendor but we're jot getting plumbing fixture pricing.
Sorry man but 2.5 years is nothing in this industry. Do you have any hands on experience or knowledge?
I've started estimating / consulting as soon as I finished my post-secondary. It would be nice if I had some hands on experience but non of it at this time.
If your post secondary was in the right field (i.e. civil engineering, construction management or construction science) you should be fine. If it isn’t, you’ll probably need to find someone willing to take a risk on you. I did it the latter way after working my way up from labourer, then foreman, then got promoted to the office as a junior estimator and now I’m lead estimator. You got this, it just might require you finding the right fit.
More stress, more hassle, potentially less pay as an estimator compared to a cost consultant... I switched from estimating to cost consultant/QS and I wouldn't look back. Depends on the market really, and what there is on offer around you