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Will AI take my job? · Cost Estimators

Will AI take my job? Cost Estimators

The short answer

AI will reshape this job

Many of the tasks in this work can be done much faster with AI. Expect fewer people doing more, new expectations, and an edge for people who pair the job with skills AI can’t cover.

Less exposedAI exposure 48/100 · more exposed than 76% of U.S. occupationsMore exposed

What AI is least likely to do in this job

SpeakingActive ListeningJudgment and Decision MakingComplex Problem SolvingBuilding and ConstructionSocial Perceptiveness

Skills and knowledge this work relies on that depend on people, judgment or hands-on work.

Where AI tools already help

MathematicsReading ComprehensionEconomics and AccountingWritingComputers and ElectronicsEnglish Language

Parts of the work where AI writing, research and analysis tools are already useful.

How to stay ahead

  • Lean into what people do best in this work: Speaking, Active Listening, Judgment and Decision Making. Put examples of these on your résumé.
  • Learn the AI tools for your field, starting with the tasks they already help with (Mathematics and Reading Comprehension). People who use them well tend to get the work that remains.
  • Know your next move before you need it: look at the more AI-resilient careers below, and what it would take to get there.
  • Take Aptly’s free assessments to see which careers fit your interests, personality and strengths, with the AI exposure of every match.

Nearby careers that are more AI-resilient

CareerAI exposureU.S. median pay
Government Property Inspectors and Investigators · Not replaced, but changed35/100$80,730
Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products · Not replaced, but changed37/100$77,710
Buyers and Purchasing Agents, Farm Products · Unlikely25/100$77,710
Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners · Not replaced, but changed36/100$61,160
Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes · Not replaced, but changed37/100$82,890
Biofuels Production Managers · Unlikely18/100$126,060

Careers that suit the same kind of person, need similar preparation and pay at least three-quarters as much. Whether one fits you is what Aptly’s free assessments show.

Find work that fits you and holds up
Aptly’s free assessments score 13,000+ careers for your interests, personality and strengths, and show the AI exposure of every match.
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Cost Estimators earn a median of $78,740 a year in the U.S. Pay by state, requirements and openings.

How this is measured

The score is an estimate of AI exposure: the share of an occupation’s tasks that large language models, and software built on them, could do in half the time or less at the same quality. It comes from a study by researchers at OpenAI and the University of Pennsylvania (Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock, 2023, “GPTs are GPTs”), which rated every task the U.S. Department of Labor lists for each occupation.

Exposure is not the same as job loss. Highly exposed jobs often change rather than disappear, and many people in them become more productive. Use it as a guide to where the work is heading, not a prediction about you.

Check another job

AI exposure: Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), “GPTs are GPTs”. Skills: O*NET 30. Pay: BLS, May 2025. O*NET-SOC 13-1051.00.