Home / Tasks / Estimate operational costs
In 1 of the 18 jobs that do this, AI or robots already show up on it, most often as work people hand to AI. In the other 17, there's no evidence yet. Jobs spend a median of 17m of an 8-hour shift on it, and about 3.0 million U.S. workers hold these jobs.
Every job that does this
Each job words the task its own way. Minutes are that job's estimate for a typical shift; the label is the evidence for that job's version.
| Job and its version of the task | Per shift | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety EngineersPrepare schedules, reports, and estimates of the costs involved in developing and operating mines. | 40m | No evidence yet |
| Industrial EngineersEstimate production costs, cost saving methods, and the effects of product design changes on expenditures for management review, action, and control. | 34m | No evidence yet |
| Chemical EngineersPrepare estimate of production costs and production progress reports for management. | 32m | No evidence yet |
| Civil Engineering Technologists and TechniciansDevelop plans and estimate costs for installation of systems, utilization of facilities, or construction of structures. | 30m | No evidence yet |
| Civil EngineersEstimate quantities and cost of materials, equipment, or labor to determine project feasibility. | 29m | No evidence yet |
| Transportation EngineersEstimate transportation project costs. | 19m | No evidence yet |
| Industrial Engineering Technologists and TechniciansAnalyze, estimate, or report production costs. | 19m | No evidence yet |
| Mechatronics EngineersDetermine the feasibility, costs, or performance benefits of new mechatronic equipment. | 19m | No evidence yet |
| Automotive EngineersDevelop engineering specifications or cost estimates for automotive design concepts. | 17m | No evidence yet |
| Manufacturing EngineersEstimate costs, production times, or staffing requirements for new designs. | 17m | No evidence yet |
| Dietetic TechniciansDetermine food and beverage costs and assist in implementing cost control procedures. | 12m | No evidence yet |
| Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologists and TechniciansCalculate design specifications or cost, material, and resource estimates, and prepare project schedules and budgets. | 12m | No evidence yet |
| Bioengineers and Biomedical EngineersPrepare project plans for equipment or facility improvements, including time lines, budgetary estimates, or capital spending requests. | 12m | No evidence yet |
| Electrical EngineersEstimate labor, material, or construction costs for budget preparation purposes. | 11m | Often handed to AI |
| Architectural and Civil DraftersDetermine quality, cost, strength, and quantity of required materials, and enter figures on materials lists. | 6m | No evidence yet |
| Mechanical Engineering Technologists and TechniciansEstimate cost factors including labor and material for purchased and fabricated parts and costs for assembly, testing, or installing. | 6m | No evidence yet |
| Electronics EngineersPrepare budget or cost estimates for equipment, construction, or installation projects or control expenditures. | 6m | No evidence yet |
| Mechanical EngineersCalculate energy losses for buildings, using equipment such as computers, combustion analyzers, or pressure gauges. | 6m | No evidence yet |
How to read this
This task type comes from O*NET's detailed work activities, which link similar tasks across jobs. A label applies to one job's version of the task: AI use comes from real AI conversations (Anthropic Economic Index) and robot evidence from deployments in real workplaces. "No evidence yet" may just mean the task is rare in the data. How we keep time.
See all 250 shared tasks, or find any job on the big clock.