There has been an increasing trend in professional and engineering circles to place greater emphasis on official credentials. These credentials commonly come in the form of certificates – documented recognition by a professional body that an engineer or other professional has the qualifications and technical knowledge to be a practitioner in that field. These certificates are somewhat analogous to merit badges in scouting – the certification is evidence that the holder has a certain minimum level of competence in the subject area. This review will help you decide what certifications are applicable to you and the requirements to obtain a certification

Ahle, Karen M.

Alley, Kevin J.

Hsin, Karen

Remer, Donald S.

Silny, John

English

Scholarship@Claremont

Claremont CollegesScholarship @ ClaremontAll HMC Faculty Publications and Research HMC Faculty Scholarship10-1-2006Certifications Offered by Cost EstimatingOrganizationsDonald S. RemerHarvey Mudd CollegeKaren M. AhleKevin J. AlleyJohn SilnyKaren HsinThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the HMC Faculty Scholarship at Scholarship @ Claremont. It has been accepted for inclusionin All HMC Faculty Publications and Research by an authorized administrator of Scholarship @ Claremont. For more information, please contactscholarship@cuc.claremont.edu.Recommended CitationRemer, Donald S., Karen M. Ahle, Kevin J. Alley, John Silny, and Karen Hsin. "Certifications Offered by Cost EstimatingOrganizations." National Estimator Fall 2006: 17-20. Society of Cost Estimating and Analysis 17Donald S. Remer, Ph.D., P.E., Karen M. Ahle,  Kevin J. Alley, John F. Silny, and Karen HsinThere has been an increasing trend in professional and engineer-ing circles to place greater emphasis on ofﬁcial credentials. These credentials commonly come in the form of certiﬁcates – doc-umented recognition by a professional body that an engineer or other professional has the qualiﬁcations and technical knowledge to be a practitioner in that ﬁeld. These certiﬁcates are somewhat analogous to merit badges in scouting – the certiﬁcation is evidence that the holder has a certain minimum level of competence in the subject area. This review will help you decide what certiﬁca-tions are applicable to you and the requirements to obtain a certiﬁcation. Cost Estimating Certiﬁcations Offered in the U.S. (1) Certiﬁed Professional Estimator (CPE) — The Certiﬁed Professional Estimator (CPE) certiﬁcate is offered by the American Society of Professional Estimators (ASPE). The CPE certiﬁcate is targeted speciﬁcally at construction estimators, and requires a rigorous course of study. Construction estimates for the state of California must be prepared by, or under the direct supervision of, a Certiﬁed Profes-sional Estimator. To be eligible to take the CPE certiﬁcation test, the applicant must have at least ﬁve years experience in one discipline of professional estimating (mechanical, electrical, landscaping, etc.) The certiﬁcation process consists of an educational workshop, writing a 2500 word acceptable techni-cal paper on estimating, and completing two examinations. The educational workshop can be taken either at the ASPE Chapters during November and early December, or online. The ﬁrst exam, a Gen-eral Knowledge Exam, is designed to test project management and business knowledge. It is a four-hour exam with over 500 multiple choice and true/false questions on construction topics. A passing grade is 70%. The second exam is a Discipline Speciﬁc Test, which tests a speciﬁc area of expertise. The ASPE is currently offering exams in: General Estimating, Earthwork, Concrete, Rooﬁng, Drywall Systems, Painting, Plumbing, HVAC Piping, HVAC Sheet Metal, and Electrical. These are eight-hour exams and consist of true/false, multiple choice, and estimating problems. The exams are given throughout the country in March, July, and November. (ASPE, 2006)(2) Certiﬁed Cost Estimator/Analyst (CCE/A) — The Certiﬁed Cost Estimator/Analyst (CCE/A) cer-tiﬁcate is offered by the Society of Cost Estimating and Analysis (SCEA). The Certiﬁed Cost Estima-tor/Analyst certiﬁcate is much more general than the Certiﬁed Professional Estimator certiﬁcate. The body of knowledge required includes estimating in all ﬁelds of engineering, not just construction. To be eligible to take the CCE/A exam, the applicant must ﬁt in one of three categories: having (1) a col-lege degree (in cost estimating/analysis or with more than 10 courses in cost estimating and analysis) and two years experience in cost estimating/analysis in a position speciﬁcally identiﬁed as requir-ing such; (2) an associate’s degree and ﬁve years experience as described above; or (3) seven years of experience as described above with submission of a biographical sketch demonstrating education, experience and relevant performance. The exam focuses on various methods of analyzing the cost of a project such as cost-beneﬁt analysis and present worth analysis, as well as estimating models such as parametric estimating and comparison estimating. The exam is four hours long and consists of two parts. The ﬁrst part is 80 to 100 multiple choice and true/false questions focusing mostly on terminolo-gy and concepts. The second part consists of 50 multiple choice questions focusing on calculations and problem solving. A passing score is 70% or more correct. The exam is given twice a year in the spring and fall at the SCEA National Education Conference & Workshop. (SCEA, 2006)Certiﬁcations Offered by Cost Estimating Organizations18 National Estimator — Fall 2006(3) Certiﬁed Parametric Practitioner (CPP) — The Certiﬁed Parametric Practitioner certiﬁcation is a new certiﬁcate offered by the International Society of Parametric Ana-lysts (ISPA). This certiﬁcate provides professional recognition of a practitioner’s educa-tion, job experience, knowledge, and skills. The ﬁrst certiﬁcation test was offered at the May 2002 ISPA Annual Conference in San Diego. To be eligible to take the written ex-amination, the applicant must either have a college degree in a ﬁeld of study directly related to parametric analysis (or at least ten courses related to estimating) and two years experience performing parametric analysis; an associate college degree and ﬁve years of experience in parametric analysis; or seven years of experience in paramet-ric analysis with the submission of a brief biographical sketch demonstrating the applicant’s ability or knowledge to pass the examination. The three-hour exam con-sists of 100 multiple-choice, ﬁll in the blanks, and true/false questions. A passing grade is 75%. The exam is given once annually at the ISPA Conference. (ISPA, 2006)4) Certiﬁed Cost Engineer/Consultant (CCE/CCC) — The Certiﬁed Cost Engi-neer/Consultant certiﬁcation is offered by the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering, International (AACEI). The AACEI was formerly known as the American Association of Cost Engineering (AACE). There are 793 CCE/CCC certiﬁed professionals, making this the largest cost estimating certiﬁcation in our study. This certiﬁcation is intended to provide ofﬁcial and public recognition of expertise in the most current skills and knowledge of the cost estimating profession. To be eli-gible to take the CCE/CCC certiﬁcation test, the applicant must have at least eight full years in the cost engineering profession (up to four can be substituted for by an engineering degree or a PE license.) To become a Certiﬁed Cost Engineer or Consultant, the applicant must pass a 7-hour test, as well as writ-ing a 2,500 word minimum technical paper. The exam consists of 100 multiple-choice and compound questions. A passing grade is 70%. The exam is given twice a year in the summer and winter in various locations around the U.S.  The CCE certiﬁcation is limited to those with a 4-year degree from an accredited engineering pro-gram. Additionally, in some states CCE certiﬁed people who are not licensed Professional Engineers (PEs) are not allowed to advertise themselves as having any engineering title (including that of Certiﬁed Cost Engineer). This is the purpose of the CCC certiﬁcate – to indicate that the holder has met all other requirements for being a Certiﬁed Cost Engineer, but either does not have a 4-year accredited engineer-ing degree or is not permitted to use the CCE designation due to not being a licensed Professional Engi-neer (AACEI, 2006).In Table 1, we summarize the general information about each certiﬁcation. The CCE/A certiﬁcate, offered by SCEA, has been available since 1990. There are 432 people with this certiﬁcate. (Ceshire, 2006) AACEI Table 1. General information about the certiﬁcates.CertiﬁcationOrganization Offering  CertiﬁcationMembers in OrganizationPeople with CertiﬁcationCertiﬁcations Issued (2004)Certiﬁcations Issued  (2005)First Year Certiﬁcation OfferedOnline RegistrationCertiﬁed Professional Estimator (CPE)American Society of Professional Es-timators (ASPE)2200 587 48 37 1976 NoCertiﬁed Cost Estimator / Analyst  (CCE / A)Society of Cost Estimating and Analysis (SCEA)1222 432 21 42 1990 NoCertiﬁed Parametric  Practitioner (CPP)International Soci-ety of Parametric Analysts (ISPA)280 21 4 NA 2002 NoCertiﬁed Cost Engineer /  Consultant (CCE / CCC)Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineer-ing International (AACEI, formerly American  Association of  Cost Engineers)5032 570 / 342 34 / 67 161 / 46 1976https://www.aacei.org/certiﬁcation/certapplication.shtml Society of Cost Estimating and Analysis 19Table 2. Contact information for organizations with headquarters inside the United States. CertiﬁcationOrganization Offering Certiﬁcation URL Phone Fax Address Email AddressCertiﬁed Professional Estimator (CPE)American Society of Professional Estimators (ASPE)www.aspenational.org +615-316-9200 +615-316-9800ASPE2525 Perimeter Place Dr.Suite #103Nashville, TN 37214certiﬁcation@ aspenational.orgCertiﬁed Cost Estimator / Analyst  (CCE / A)Society of Cost Estimating and Analysis (SCEA)www.sceaonline.org +703-751-8069 +703-461-7328SCEA101 South Whiting St.Suite 201Alexandria, VA 22304scea@sceaonline.netCertiﬁed Parametric Practitioner (CPP)International Society of Parametric Analysts (ISPA)www.ispa-cost.org +858-592-5382 +858-592-5420ISPA CPP ProgramFred Tucker P.O. Box 9699 Canoga Park, CA 91309douglas.druley@ baesystems.comCertiﬁed Cost Engineer / Consultant (CCE / CCC)Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering International (AACEI, formerly American Association of Cost Engineers)www.aacei.org +800-858-2678 +304-291-5728AACE International209 Prairie Ave. Suite 100Morgantown, WV 26501info@aacei.orgTable 3. Contact information for organizations with headquarters outside the United States.CertiﬁcationOrganization Offering Certiﬁcation URL Phone Fax AddressEmail AddressCertiﬁed Cost Engineer (CCE)Dutch Association of Cost Engineerswww.napdace.nl 31 33 247 3460 31 33 246 0470PO Box 1058 3860 BB Nijkerk The Netherlandsnapdace@mos-net.nlCertiﬁed Cost Engineer (CCE)Association of Cost Engineers (United Kingdom)www.acoste.org.uk +44 (0)1270 764798+44 (0)1270 766180Lea House 5 Middlewich Rd. Sandbach Cheshire CW11 1XL United Kingdomenquiries@acoste.org.ukPracticante in Ingegneria Economica (PIE)Associazione Italiana d’Ingegneria Economica (Italy)www.aice-it.org 39 02 58304164 39 02 58300106Via Luigi Castiglioni 120123 Milano ITALYinfo@aice-it.orgIngeniero en Costos (ICC)Sociedad Mexicana de Ingenieria Economica, Financiera y de Costos (Mexico)www.smiefc.com.mx 52 56 39 54 25 52 56 39 11 45Anaxagoras No. 17-101, P.B. Col Narvarte Deleg. Benito Juarez Codigo Postal 03020 Mexico DF MEXICOsmiefc@prodigy.net.mxand ASPE have been offering certiﬁcations since 1976, much longer than the other organizations. However, these certiﬁcations still have relatively small membership, with 912 CCE/CCC certiﬁcate holders (Williard, 2006) and 587 CPE certiﬁcate holders (Parrish, 2006). The newest certiﬁcation, Certiﬁed Parametric Practitioner (CPP), is offered by ISPA, with the ﬁrst certiﬁcation test held in 2002, and currently has only 21 certiﬁcate hold-ers. (Brown, 2005)Continued on page 21.

Certifications Offered by Cost Estimating Organizations

Keck Graduate Institute

Claremont Colleges
Scholarship @ Claremont
All HMC Faculty Publications and Research HMC Faculty Scholarship
10-1-2006
Certifications Offered by Cost Estimating
Organizations
Donald S. Remer
Harvey Mudd College
Karen M. Ahle
Kevin J. Alley
John Silny
Karen Hsin
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the HMC Faculty Scholarship at Scholarship @ Claremont. It has been accepted for inclusion
in All HMC Faculty Publications and Research by an authorized administrator of Scholarship @ Claremont. For more information, please contact
scholarship@cuc.claremont.edu.
Recommended Citation
Remer, Donald S., Karen M. Ahle, Kevin J. Alley, John Silny, and Karen Hsin. "Certifications Offered by Cost Estimating
Organizations." National Estimator Fall 2006: 17-20.
 Society of Cost Estimating and Analysis 17
Donald S. Remer, Ph.D., P.E., Karen M. Ahle,  Kevin J. Alley, 
John F. Silny, and Karen Hsin
There has been an increasing trend in professional and engineer-ing circles to place greater emphasis on ofﬁcial credentials. These credentials commonly come in the form of certiﬁcates – doc-umented recognition by a professional body that an engineer or 
other professional has the qualiﬁcations and technical knowledge to be 
a practitioner in that ﬁeld. These certiﬁcates are somewhat analogous to 
merit badges in scouting – the certiﬁcation is evidence that the holder has a certain 
minimum level of competence in the subject area. This review will help you decide what certiﬁca-
tions are applicable to you and the requirements to obtain a certiﬁcation. 
Cost Estimating Certiﬁcations Offered in the U.S. 
(1) Certiﬁed Professional Estimator (CPE) — The Certiﬁed Professional Estimator (CPE) certiﬁcate is 
offered by the American Society of Professional Estimators (ASPE). The CPE certiﬁcate is targeted 
speciﬁcally at construction estimators, and requires a rigorous course of study. Construction estimates 
for the state of California must be prepared by, or under the direct supervision of, a Certiﬁed Profes-
sional Estimator. To be eligible to take the CPE certiﬁcation test, the applicant must have at least ﬁve 
years experience in one discipline of professional estimating (mechanical, electrical, landscaping, etc.) 
The certiﬁcation process consists of an educational workshop, writing a 2500 word acceptable techni-
cal paper on estimating, and completing two examinations. The educational workshop can be taken 
either at the ASPE Chapters during November and early December, or online. The ﬁrst exam, a Gen-
eral Knowledge Exam, is designed to test project management and business knowledge. It is a four-
hour exam with over 500 multiple choice and true/false questions on construction topics. A passing 
grade is 70%. The second exam is a Discipline Speciﬁc Test, which tests a speciﬁc area of expertise. 
The ASPE is currently offering exams in: General Estimating, Earthwork, Concrete, Rooﬁng, Drywall 
Systems, Painting, Plumbing, HVAC Piping, HVAC Sheet Metal, and Electrical. These are eight-
hour exams and consist of true/false, multiple choice, and estimating problems. The exams are given 
throughout the country in March, July, and November. (ASPE, 2006)
(2) Certiﬁed Cost Estimator/Analyst (CCE/A) — The Certiﬁed Cost Estimator/Analyst (CCE/A) cer-
tiﬁcate is offered by the Society of Cost Estimating and Analysis (SCEA). The Certiﬁed Cost Estima-
tor/Analyst certiﬁcate is much more general than the Certiﬁed Professional Estimator certiﬁcate. The 
body of knowledge required includes estimating in all ﬁelds of engineering, not just construction. To 
be eligible to take the CCE/A exam, the applicant must ﬁt in one of three categories: having (1) a col-
lege degree (in cost estimating/analysis or with more than 10 courses in cost estimating and analysis) 
and two years experience in cost estimating/analysis in a position speciﬁcally identiﬁed as requir-
ing such; (2) an associate’s degree and ﬁve years experience as described above; or (3) seven years 
of experience as described above with submission of a biographical sketch demonstrating education, 
experience and relevant performance. The exam focuses on various methods of analyzing the cost of 
a project such as cost-beneﬁt analysis and present worth analysis, as well as estimating models such 
as parametric estimating and comparison estimating. The exam is four hours long and consists of two 
parts. The ﬁrst part is 80 to 100 multiple choice and true/false questions focusing mostly on terminolo-
gy and concepts. The second part consists of 50 multiple choice questions focusing on calculations and 
problem solving. A passing score is 70% or more correct. The exam is given twice a year in the spring 
and fall at the SCEA National Education Conference & Workshop. (SCEA, 2006)
Certiﬁcations 
Offered by Cost Estimating 
Organizations
18 National Estimator — Fall 2006
(3) Certiﬁed Parametric Practitioner (CPP) — The Certiﬁed Parametric Practitioner 
certiﬁcation is a new certiﬁcate offered by the International Society of Parametric Ana-
lysts (ISPA). This certiﬁcate provides professional recognition of a practitioner’s educa-
tion, job experience, knowledge, and skills. The ﬁrst certiﬁcation test was offered at the 
May 2002 ISPA Annual Conference in San Diego. To be eligible to take the written ex-
amination, the applicant must either have a college degree in a ﬁeld of study directly 
related to parametric analysis (or at least ten courses related to estimating) and two 
years experience performing parametric analysis; an associate college degree and ﬁve 
years of experience in parametric analysis; or seven years of experience in paramet-
ric analysis with the submission of a brief biographical sketch demonstrating the 
applicant’s ability or knowledge to pass the examination. The three-hour exam con-
sists of 100 multiple-choice, ﬁll in the blanks, and true/false questions. A passing grade 
is 75%. The exam is given once annually at the ISPA Conference. (ISPA, 2006)
4) Certiﬁed Cost Engineer/Consultant (CCE/CCC) — The Certiﬁed Cost Engi-
neer/Consultant certiﬁcation is offered by the Association for the Advancement 
of Cost Engineering, International (AACEI). The AACEI was formerly known as 
the American Association of Cost Engineering (AACE). There are 793 CCE/CCC 
certiﬁed professionals, making this the largest cost estimating certiﬁcation in 
our study. This certiﬁcation is intended to provide ofﬁcial and public recognition 
of expertise in the most current skills and knowledge of the cost estimating profession. To be eli-
gible to take the CCE/CCC certiﬁcation test, the applicant must have at least eight full years in the cost 
engineering profession (up to four can be substituted for by an engineering degree or a PE license.) To 
become a Certiﬁed Cost Engineer or Consultant, the applicant must pass a 7-hour test, as well as writ-
ing a 2,500 word minimum technical paper. The exam consists of 100 multiple-choice and compound 
questions. A passing grade is 70%. The exam is given twice a year in the summer and winter in various 
locations around the U.S.
  The CCE certiﬁcation is limited to those with a 4-year degree from an accredited engineering pro-
gram. Additionally, in some states CCE certiﬁed people who are not licensed Professional Engineers 
(PEs) are not allowed to advertise themselves as having any engineering title (including that of Certiﬁed 
Cost Engineer). This is the purpose of the CCC certiﬁcate – to indicate that the holder has met all other 
requirements for being a Certiﬁed Cost Engineer, but either does not have a 4-year accredited engineer-
ing degree or is not permitted to use the CCE designation due to not being a licensed Professional Engi-
neer (AACEI, 2006).
In Table 1, we summarize the general information about each certiﬁcation. The CCE/A certiﬁcate, offered 
by SCEA, has been available since 1990. There are 432 people with this certiﬁcate. (Ceshire, 2006) AACEI 
Table 1. General information about the certiﬁcates.
Certiﬁcation
Organization 
Offering  
Certiﬁcation
Members in 
Organization
People with 
Certiﬁcation
Certiﬁcations 
Issued 
(2004)
Certiﬁcations 
Issued  
(2005)
First Year 
Certiﬁcation 
Offered
Online 
Registration
Certiﬁed 
Professional 
Estimator (CPE)
American Society 
of Professional Es-
timators (ASPE)
2200 587 48 37 1976 No
Certiﬁed Cost 
Estimator / 
Analyst  
(CCE / A)
Society of Cost 
Estimating and 
Analysis (SCEA)
1222 432 21 42 1990 No
Certiﬁed 
Parametric  
Practitioner (CPP)
International Soci-
ety of Parametric 
Analysts (ISPA)
280 21 4 NA 2002 No
Certiﬁed Cost 
Engineer /  
Consultant 
(CCE / CCC)
Association for 
the Advancement 
of Cost Engineer-
ing International 
(AACEI, formerly 
American  
Association of  
Cost Engineers)
5032 570 / 342 34 / 67 161 / 46 1976
https://www.aacei.
org/certiﬁcation/
certapplication.
shtml
 Society of Cost Estimating and Analysis 19
Table 2. Contact information for organizations with headquarters inside the United States. 
Certiﬁcation
Organization 
Offering 
Certiﬁcation URL Phone Fax Address Email Address
Certiﬁed 
Professional 
Estimator 
(CPE)
American Society 
of Professional 
Estimators (ASPE)
www.aspenational.org +615-316-9200 +615-316-9800
ASPE
2525 Perimeter Place Dr.
Suite #103
Nashville, TN 37214
certiﬁcation@ 
aspenational.org
Certiﬁed Cost 
Estimator / 
Analyst  
(CCE / A)
Society of Cost 
Estimating and 
Analysis (SCEA)
www.sceaonline.org +703-751-8069 +703-461-7328
SCEA
101 South Whiting St.
Suite 201
Alexandria, VA 22304
scea@sceaonline.net
Certiﬁed 
Parametric 
Practitioner 
(CPP)
International 
Society of 
Parametric 
Analysts (ISPA)
www.ispa-cost.org +858-592-5382 +858-592-5420
ISPA CPP Program
Fred Tucker 
P.O. Box 9699 
Canoga Park, CA 91309
douglas.druley@ 
baesystems.com
Certiﬁed Cost 
Engineer / 
Consultant 
(CCE / CCC)
Association for 
the Advancement 
of Cost 
Engineering 
International 
(AACEI, formerly 
American 
Association of 
Cost Engineers)
www.aacei.org +800-858-2678 +304-291-5728
AACE International
209 Prairie Ave. 
Suite 100
Morgantown, WV 
26501
info@aacei.org
Table 3. Contact information for organizations with headquarters outside the United States.
Certiﬁcation
Organization 
Offering 
Certiﬁcation URL Phone Fax Address
Email 
Address
Certiﬁed Cost 
Engineer (CCE)
Dutch Association 
of Cost Engineers
www.napdace.nl 31 33 247 3460 31 33 246 0470
PO Box 1058 
3860 BB Nijkerk 
The Netherlands
napdace@mos-net.nl
Certiﬁed Cost 
Engineer (CCE)
Association of 
Cost Engineers 
(United 
Kingdom)
www.acoste.org.uk +44 (0)1270 764798
+44 (0)1270 
766180
Lea House 
5 Middlewich Rd. 
Sandbach 
Cheshire 
CW11 1XL 
United Kingdom
enquiries@acoste.
org.uk
Practicante 
in Ingegneria 
Economica (PIE)
Associazione 
Italiana 
d’Ingegneria 
Economica (Italy)
www.aice-it.org 39 02 58304164 39 02 58300106
Via Luigi 
Castiglioni 
120123 Milano 
ITALY
info@aice-it.org
Ingeniero en 
Costos (ICC)
Sociedad Mexicana 
de Ingenieria 
Economica, 
Financiera y de 
Costos (Mexico)
www.smiefc.com.mx 52 56 39 54 25 52 56 39 11 45
Anaxagoras No. 
17-101, P.B. 
Col Narvarte 
Deleg. Benito 
Juarez 
Codigo Postal 
03020 
Mexico DF 
MEXICO
smiefc@prodigy.net.mx
and ASPE have been offering certiﬁcations since 1976, much longer than the other organizations. However, 
these certiﬁcations still have relatively small membership, with 912 CCE/CCC certiﬁcate holders (Williard, 
2006) and 587 CPE certiﬁcate holders (Parrish, 2006). The newest certiﬁcation, Certiﬁed Parametric Practitioner 
(CPP), is offered by ISPA, with the ﬁrst certiﬁcation test held in 2002, and currently has only 21 certiﬁcate hold-
ers. (Brown, 2005)
Continued on page 21.


https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1375&amp;context=hmc_fac_pub

Certifications Offered by Cost Estimating Organizations

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Scholarship@Claremont

Keck Graduate Institute