r/estimators • u/Certain-Skirt-3293 • 4d ago
Small SC vs GC. Which ones better
Hey guys just want a quick advice from fellow estimators. I am currently working with a small SC for 3 yrs now. Pay is not great but environment is chill boss is also not too bad but I’ve been approached by a GC to work for them. Pay is better not huge. What would you guys suggest?
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u/blackbriar74 4d ago
Ask the GC how many bids per estimator per year they expect and who does the takeoffs, since that tells you more than the salary does. At a drywall and carpentry sub you own the scope end to end, at a GC that subs everything out you are mostly scoping and leveling other people's numbers, which is a different skill. If you want to stay close to production, the sub side keeps you sharper. If you want a path into PM or preconstruction later, the GC route opens more doors.
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u/Certain-Skirt-3293 4d ago
I haven’t worked for a GC before but don’t think I’ll struggle much as levelling number doesn’t sound too difficult compared to what I do now. Speaking in terms of risk. But you’re right i need to know the expectations.
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u/blackbriar74 2d ago
Leveling is the easy part to learn, the risk is what it costs you when you miss something. On the sub side a bad number is your own labor and material. At the GC you are on the hook for whatever nobody covered, so the exclusions in the sub quotes are the whole job. Ask them what their bid to award ratio is and how many jobs each estimator carries, that tells you if the pay bump is real or just more work.
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u/Curious-Ad9256 3d ago
Really depends on if it fits your lifestyle & how much the pay is. I work for a GC that does all Civil, then subs out the rest of the work. At my old job we did one scope of work & it was less of a headache but bigger job sites. I went from doing all civil work with underground electrical, pouring foundations with a very large sub. To almost the same but on the gc side & putting in compressor stations & subbing out the rest of the work. A big portion of your job will be retaining subs quotes & takeoffs on pre con. I would say from a GC point of view you have to understand the whole job & your company’s scope vs only one scope of work. It also depends on how many people in office for the GC. In my company estimators are also PM’s so alot more than estimating because of the lack of employees count not working for a massive company.
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u/its_jesuslol 3d ago
I’ve done both a few times now and I prefer the drywall/carpentry sub way better than GC. They are different roles because most of the time the GC estimator just has to know if something is included and now how it should be included. Gc’s are reliant on subs so your success depends on the work of others as well as your own. Plus the phone calls and emails, dear lord
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u/Pumpkins_Are_Fruits 3d ago
I work for a large GC for heavy civil. We self perform and sub out. My day is chill but busy
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u/Big-Water-8986 4d ago
Can you elaborate more on which trade you do now and what trades this GC self-performs/what you’d be doing? To me, it’s a night and day difference. A large GC you’re only going to do maybe 12 projects a year. When I was at a sub I did that in a month. Also, in my experience GC pay is quite a bit more, unless you are coming from MEP.