Okay here is my beef

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Alwayslearningelec

Senior Member
Location
NJ
Occupation
Estimator
I am a junior estimator and it seems that even higher level estimators are not very knowledgeable about things they should b e i.e fire alarm, motor controls and other technical things involved in electrical. I ask a question about something and they say...ah just throw in 4 hours for that. I'm not being trained! Yes I know your saying that me the correct labor hours. But I can tell and smell bull. I want to know exactly how something is installed and wired. Yes I guess I really need to go into the field but oh well. Just venting
 
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frizbeedog

Senior Member
Location
Oregon
Sometimes it is bull. Often you have to estimate what you've never installed before.

This is where the advice of others will come into play.
 

brian john

Senior Member
Location
Leesburg, VA
Sometimes/often expierence comes in, I consider myself fairly knowlegable, and when I sit down with my estimator I was say throw 4 hours in. That is expierence for an estimator.
 

nakulak

Senior Member
estimating, project managing, and accounting go hand in hand. Finding out where you are making money (your bread and butter) and where you are not making money will help in future estimates. Finding ways to easily evaluate these things will make you better. Finding out how to get the correct feedback from others in the project management end will make you better. Then you can use this information to improve your next estimate. You need to be able to assign values to tasks in a fairly logical manner (L&M, SF, LF, unit cost, whatever makes sense for the task), but you don't necessarily need to know all the nuts and bolts of the task to be a good estimator. At any rate, eventually you will become better or you will fail miserably, hopefully you will figure out ways to enhance your effectiveness and succeed.
 

mdshunk

Senior Member
Location
Right here.
I ask a question about something and they say...ah just throw in 4 hours for that. I'm not being trained!
Actually, you are being trained. Whatever it was you asked about, you now know will take 4 hours. Sometimes estimating can be more visceral than technical.
 
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