My name is Rick Baus, and I was born and raised in the suburbs, approximately 20 minutes north of the City of Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania. I attended the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport, Pennsylvania for my undergraduate degree in Construction Management with a minor in Business Administration. In 2021, I obtained my Master of Business Administration with a specialization in finance from Holy Family University, located in Northeast Philadelphia. I am currently working on my Doctor of Education and Professional Studies, specializing in educational and organizational leadership with a planned graduation date of November 2025. I am also a Certified Professional Estimator through the American Society of Professional Estimators (ASPE) and a Certified Claims Consulting Expert through the Construction Management Institute (CMI).

A fun fact about me is that besides enjoying my profession, spending time with my family, and being a lifelong learner, I have a huge passion for cooking. You will constantly find me outside in different weather, cooking on my grill or smoker. There is an excellent book about five love languages in which we all give and receive love in different ways: words of affirmation, acts of service, receiving gifts, quality time, and physical touch, but there should be a sixth one, which involves the sharing of homecooked food.

I’ve been working in the construction industry for over 20 years. Upon my undergraduate graduation, I entered the industry on the contracting side as an assistant estimator/assistant project manager and quickly rose up the ranks to a chief estimator and a senior project manager then, after 18 years on the contracting side, I moved over to the engineering side as a construction specialist. Currently, I work for Urban Engineers, Inc., a multidisciplinary planning, design, environmental, and construction support services consulting firm headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which provides services for facilities, ports and waterways, public transportation, railroads, airports, energy and utilities, bridges, and roadways, as a Construction Specialist.

I am subject matter expert in budgeting, change order management, cost estimating (order of magnitude, conceptual design, design development, construction documents, and bids), construction and project management, finance, leadership, problem solving, team building, and value engineering in infrastructure and heavy-civil transportation projects.

What I like the most about my job is that every day is a new challenge and\or a new problem to solve, and at the end of the challenge, you get to see the end result of your work be built and\or come to life.

When it comes to my future goals and aspirations of my career, my goal is to advance my career at Urban Engineers, Inc., where my knowledge and experience will contribute to the development and improvement of our organization and the construction industry through research, education, and innovation. I am passionate about solving complex problems, building effective teams, and enhancing client satisfaction.

My most significant and rewarding career challenge has been joining Urban Engineers, Inc. as a construction specialist consultant and creating project budgets for projects from the East Coast to the West Coast and down South. Each location has diverse challenges to evaluate and overcome.

In June 2022, I joined AACE as a member not only to learn as much as possible from other like-minded individuals in the field of estimating but also to connect with others to build a network of estimating professionals and to share my knowledge and experience with younger professionals entering the field about being an AACE member has been bringing awareness to the organization among younger individuals rising in their careers in total cost management. I aim to obtain additional professional certifications to add to my current alphabet soup.

The best advice that I can give anyone entering the field of estimating is to be proactive in seizing career growth opportunities, not settle for anything, honor your instincts, get a mentor, and seek happiness instead of money. No job is too small; trust your instincts, focus on living your dream and not someone else’s, network to help you advance, learn how to set boundaries from the get-go, set aside time for yourself to avoid burnout, always be 15 minutes early for all appointments, and work to learn rather than to earn, and always ask questions to understand something that you don’t know from others.