Are you an experienced estimator? This could be your next role

We're growing our support team. If you’ve spent years estimating and you’re ready for something different, this role is worth a look. Here's what the job looks like in the words of the people doing it. 

When you contact Countfire's support team, you're not speaking to someone reading from a script. You're speaking to someone who has spent years doing takeoffs, wrestling with complex estimates, and navigating exactly the kind of problems you're trying to solve.

We sat down with Senior Product Specialists, Rebecca and Katie, to find out what the role really involves, and why their estimating backgrounds make all the difference.

No two days are the same

Our support team's core responsibilities are consistent: running training sessions, reviewing users' projects, monitoring live chat, and knowing the software inside out. What changes is the content of each of those.

Rebecca, who spent nearly 20 years as an estimator before joining Countfire, puts it simply:

"Day to day is very varied and usually each day is different. You cover different things in each training session, you have to be prepared for the unexpected question and be able to interpret what they are asking."

The live chat reflects that unpredictability. Questions range from detailed workflow queries to the very straightforward, and everything in between. 

If you're someone who gets bored doing the same thing every day, this role tends to suit you well.

Why estimating experience is essential

There's a specific skill involved in support that's hard to teach: interpreting what someone is actually asking.

Estimators don't always describe a problem in precise technical terms. They use the language of their workflow and, without that context, it's easy to give an answer that technically responds to the question but misses the point entirely.

Both Rebecca and Katie understand that context firsthand. Katie started her career as an apprentice and spent a decade working her way up to electrical estimator before making the move into support. That experience shapes how they both approach every customer interaction.

"When you're talking to a customer, you can relate to the issues they're facing when doing a takeoff and an estimate. You understand what they are asking and what they are trying to achieve."

When you understand how a takeoff works, you can spot whether a user's approach is the most efficient route, or whether there's a better way to do it in the software. From the customer's side, that distinction matters.

"Customers appreciate having someone who understands what they are doing and can show them in simple terms how they can do it in the software."

Making the switch 

Rebecca came to this role after nearly 20 years as an estimator. When she was made redundant, she had a choice: return to a familiar company and a familiar role, or try something different.

She chose Countfire. Not just because of the role itself, but because of how we work:

"Countfire offered flexible, fully remote working, and there was trust right from the start. The company values and ethos had a big part in persuading me to take the job."

The transition wasn't without its challenges. But what kept her going was straightforward; she wanted to help people. Support, it turned out, was exactly the right fit.

Katie's path was different, but the motivations were similar, a desire to stay close to the industry she knew, while doing something new with that knowledge. Neither of them left their estimating experience at the door.

"We built up a lot of knowledge being estimators and we didn't want to lose it. We also get to use that knowledge to help shape the software."

What we're looking for

We're hiring for this role now. The right person will have:

• A background in estimating: you don't need to be a software expert, but you do need to understand the work our users do
• Patience and the ability to maintain it even on a difficult day
• Curiosity: a genuine interest in learning the software deeply and staying on top of it
• Communication skills: the ability to explain things clearly, without jargon, to people at all levels

We offer fully remote working, with a team that gives you real autonomy. We’ll give you everything you need to make the transition, and support and training as you make the career switch from estimating to support.

If you've spent time in the estimating world and you're ready for a change, or you're looking for a role that lets you use that experience differently; we'd like to hear from you.

Learn more about the support product specialist role.