• Address on the Exam Bulletin has been updated.

All applicants must meet the minimum qualifications for this examination by the cut-off date.

Upcoming Filing Cutoff Dates:

• 9/2/2025
• 10/1/2025
• 11/3/2025
• 12/1/2025
• 1/2/2026
• 2/2/2026
• 3/2/2026
• 4/1/2026
• 5/1/2026
• 6/1/2026
• 7/1/2026

Examination/Employment Application (STD 678) must be received or postmarked by the filing date indicated above. Applications postmarked, personally delivered or received via interoffice mail after the filing date will be processed in the next group.

Note: Check back periodically as cut-off dates may be added in the future. Additionally, cut-off dates are subject to change or be cancelled at any time. Such changes or cancellations will be in accordance with civil service laws and rules.

Results notices will be sent in 6-7 weeks following each cut-off date. Please contact Talent Acquisition at (279) 223-2700 if you have not received your notice after 7 weeks.

The information below will help you determine which classification(s) is(are) appropriate for you. Applicants must meet the Minimum Qualifications as stated on this bulletin to compete in this examination.

Open and Open, Non-Promotional Examination(s):

• ASSOCIATE ESTIMATOR OF BUILDING CONSTRUCTION - Open

For all Classifications, once you have participated in any of the following examinations, you may not recompete for 12 months:

Exam Code(s):

3538

For ASSOCIATE ESTIMATOR OF BUILDING CONSTRUCTION, once you have participated in any of the following examinations, you may not recompete for 12 months:

Exam Code(s):

• EX-03538

All applicants must complete and submit an Examination Application (STD. 678) and Qualifications Assessment.

NOTE: Applications submitted by mail or in person must be signed.

Submit an Examination/Employment Application (STD 678) to apply for this examination.

Electronic applications can be submitted through your account at www.CalCareers.ca.gov.

You may apply by mail to:

• Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
  Talent Acquisition - Examination Services Unit
  P.O. Box 942883
  Sacramento, CA 94283-0001
  

Indicate the Examination Code and Classification(s) on your Examination/Employment Application (STD 678).

You may drop off your application and any applicable or required documents at:

• Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
  Talent Acquisition - Examination Services Unit
  9825 Goethe Road, Suite 200
  Sacramento, CA 95827-3565
  8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
  (Drop off not available on weekends and holidays)

Indicate the Examination Code and Classification(s) on your Examination/Employment Application (STD 678). All applicants must provide proof of identification. Accepted forms of identification are: 1) a photo identification card or 2) two forms of signed identification.

The following items must be submitted with your Examination/Employment Application form. Failure to submit these items may result in rejection of your application.

• Other - Qualifications Assessment

If you require assistance or alternative testing arrangements due to a disability, indicate on your application that you need reasonable accommodation. You will be contacted by a representative of the testing department to make the necessary arrangements. If you have not been contacted by the time you receive notification of testing, please contact the testing department listed in the Contact section of this bulletin.

If you are unable to submit your application or complete the test due to a disability, please contact the testing department listed in the Contact section of this bulletin.

All applicants must meet the education and/or experience requirements as stated on this exam bulletin to be accepted to the examination.

Unless otherwise stated in the Minimum Qualifications, qualifying experience may be combined on a proportionate basis if the requirements stated below include more than one pattern and are distinguished as "Either" 1, "or" 2, "or" 3, etc. For example, applicants possessing qualifying experience amounting to 50% of the required time of Pattern 1 and additional experience amounting to 50% of the required time of Pattern 2 may be accepted to an examination as meeting 100% of the overall experience requirement.

Either 1

Two years of experience performing the duties of an Assistant Estimator of Building Construction in the California state service.

Or 2

Five years of architectural or engineering experience or experience as a general contractor, two years of which shall have been in quantity estimating and pricing of major building construction. (Graduation from college with major work in architecture or engineering may be substituted for two years of the required nonspecialized experience.)

OUT-OF-CLASS EXPERIENCE: A “completion of an out-of-class assignment” memorandum, dated within one year of assignment completion, is required to use as out-of-class experience to meet the minimum qualifications for examination purposes. Employees may obtain this documentation from his/her Institutional Personnel Officer/Personnel Liaison. Out-of-class experience without required documentation will not be considered for examination purposes.

This examination consists of the following component(s):

Components that are due with your application will be scored and will count toward your final examination result. Failure to submit these items may result in disqualification or elimination from the examination.

A final score of 70% must be attained to be placed on the eligible list.

Qualifications Assessments for Associate Estimator of Building Construction are available from the CDCR website at: Associate Estimator of Building Construction.

In addition to evaluating the applicant's relative knowledge, skill and ability as demonstrated by quality and breadth of education/experience, emphasis in each test component will be on measuring competitively, relative to job demands, each applicant's:

Scope:  Emphasis in the examination will be on measuring competitively, relative to job demands, each candidate’s:

Knowledge of:

1. Labor costs and various materials entering into building construction and their commercial units.
2. Current prices of building materials and current wage scale of the various building and construction trades.
3. Principles of effective supervision.

Ability to:

1. Communicate effectively at a level required for successful job performance.
2. Read and interpret plans and specifications, and make estimates of material and labor costs and other items entering into the cost of building construction.
3. Detect errors and discrepancies in plans and specifications.
4. Make valuation appraisals of existing buildings, and write clear and comprehensive reports.
5. Dictate correspondence.
6. Direct the work of others.
7. Analyze situations accurately and adopt an effective course of action.

A Departmental Open eligible list for the ASSOCIATE ESTIMATOR OF BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Classification will be established for:

• Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation

The names of successful competitors will be merged onto the eligible list(s) in order of final score regardless of test date. Eligibility expires 12 months after it is established. Applicants must then retake the examination to reestablish eligibility.

Veterans' Preference will be granted for this examination. Veterans' Preference is an assistance program for veterans, veteran widows and widowers, and spouses of 100% disabled veterans who seek employment with the state. Veterans' Preference is also extended to currently serving military members nearing their retirement or separation date.

You are not eligible for Veteran's Preference if you are:

• A veteran who has been dishonorably discharged or released.
• A veteran, widow or widower of a veteran, or spouse of a 100 percent disabled veteran who currently has permanent civil service status. (Permanent civil service status is the status of an employee who is lawfully retained in his/her position after completion of the applicable probationary period. This does not include limited term).

Veterans' Preference is codified in Government Code Sections 18973 – 18979.

Veteran status is verified by the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR). Directions to apply for Veterans' Preference are on the Veterans' Preference Application (Std. Form 1093), which is available at www.CalCareers.ca.gov, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Career Credits are not granted for examination(s) administered on an Open basis or a Promotional basis.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and the California Correctional Health Care Services (CCHCS) are committed to building an inclusive and culturally diverse workplace. We are determined to attract and hire more candidates from diverse communities and empower all employees from a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and personal experiences. We are proud to foster inclusion and drive collaborative efforts to increase representation at all levels of the Department.

• Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation

Questions regarding this examination should be directed to:

California Relay Service: 1-800-735-2929 (TTY), 1-800-735-2922 (Voice). TTY is a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf, and is reachable only from phones equipped with a TTY Device.

Examination and/or Employment Application (STD 678) forms are available at the California Department of Human Resources, local offices of the Employment Development Department, and through your CalCareer Account (www.CalCareers.ca.gov).

If you meet the requirements stated on this examination bulletin, you may take this examination, which is competitive. Possession of the entrance requirements does not assure a place on the eligible list. Your performance in the examination described in this bulletin will be rated against a predetermined job-related rating, and all applicants who pass will be ranked according to their scores.

Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation reserves the right to revise the examination plan to better meet the needs of the service, if the circumstances under which this examination was planned change. Such revision will be in accordance with civil service laws and rules and all applicants will be notified.

General Qualifications: Applicants must possess essential personal qualifications including integrity, initiative, dependability, good judgment, the ability to work cooperatively with others, and a state of health consistent with the ability to perform the assigned duties of the class. A medical examination may be required. In open examinations, investigation may be made of employment records and personal history and fingerprinting may be required.

Eligible Lists: Eligible lists established by competitive examination, regardless of date, must be used in the following order: 1) sub-divisional promotional, 2) departmental promotional, 3) multi-departmental promotional, 4) service-wide promotional, 5) departmental open, 6) open. When there are two lists of the same kind, the older must be used first. Eligible lists will expire in one to four years unless otherwise stated on the bulletin.

High School Equivalence: Equivalence to completion of the 12th grade may be demonstrated in any one of the following ways: 1) passing the General Education Development (GED) Test; 2) completion of 12 semester units of college-level work; 3) certification from the State Department of Education, a local school board, or high school authorities that the competitor is considered to have education equivalent to graduation from high school; or 4) for clerical and accounting classes, substitution of business college work in place of high school on a year-for-year basis.

Accepted applicants must provide proof of identification at each in-person test session. Acceptable identification consists of a photo identification card or two forms of signed identification.