Why does sending a huge project estimate feel so terrifying?
Seeing an unusually large number on a bid triggers imposter syndrome and fear of taking a massive financial loss if the project goes sideways. This intimidation makes professionals second-guess fair pricing and question whether they are actually worth the amount they are charging.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- This comes up 15.0× more often in r/Plumbing than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
Why does sending a huge project estimate feel so terrifying?
- 1Reminding oneself of their worth and past experienceDid this help you?
- 2Just sending the bid and moving on with the dayDid this help you?
- 3comparing the quote breakdown to hours and expenses to confirm it is fairDid this help you?
- 4offering free add-ons to the client to justify the costDid this help you?
- 5reframing pricing based on the value derived by the clientDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“You ever send out an estimate for a job and you yourself are intimidated by the sheer number of it?”source ↗
“I just sent out an estimate for a medical building so this would be my first estimate for a commercial job, and just seeing the number I was like holy cow.”source ↗
“The big ones are a bit scary because it could either be a big money maker or it could be a lot more expensive for us to do than I thought, and then I'm part of the reason we're taking a big L”source ↗
“just being in the conversation where you are going to possible take on a job that’s 250k definitely made me nervous”source ↗
“After I submitted my first monster bid, I had to remind myself that I'm not a chump and I'm worth that much money.”source ↗
“But there is a part of me which feels like I’ve over charged, but when I look at my breakdown I feel the pricing is pretty fair. I think I’m just feeling this way because it is my biggest invoice to date.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 4Why am I already stressed about wedding planning?
- 42Why do IT jobs require impossible skill sets?
- 5Why does a termination meeting feel like an ambush?
- 2How to estimate labor time for a new material
- 9Why does home maintenance feel like a never-ending job?
- 7Why do I feel so anxious and unprepared before starting a first internship?