Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters
Place and detonate explosives to demolish structures or to loosen, remove, or displace earth, rock, or other materials. May perform specialized handling, storage, and accounting procedures.
What it pays
Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters earn a median of $29.51/hr — about $61,500 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $19.46/hr; the top 10% earn $47.77/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters earn a median of $29.51/hr — about $61,500 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $19.46/hr; the top 10% earn $47.77/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
What you'd actually do
- Examine blast areas to determine amounts and kinds of explosive charges needed and to ensure that safety laws are observed.
- Tie specified lengths of delaying fuses into patterns in order to time sequences of explosions.
- Place safety cones around blast areas to alert other workers of danger zones, and signal workers as necessary to ensure that they clear blast sites prior to explosions.
- Place explosive charges in holes or other spots; then detonate explosives to demolish structures or to loosen, remove, or displace earth, rock, or other materials.
- Insert, pack, and pour explosives, such as dynamite, ammonium nitrate, black powder, or slurries into blast holes; then shovel drill cuttings, admit water into boreholes, and tamp material to compact charges.
- Mark patterns, locations, and depths of charge holes for drilling, and issue drilling instructions.
How you get there
Typical entry-level education: High school diploma. Overall preparation: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).
The feel of the work
Much of the work happens outdoors; time pressure is a real part of the job. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)
Working for yourself
About 0% of explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters are self-employed.
Who it tends to fit
This work tends to fit people who are hands-on, organized and detail-focused and analytical.
Work a simulated shift in this job — freeMake the real decisions this job involves, then see what your choices say about you.Related careers
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Quick questions
- How much does a explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blaster make?
- The median pay is $29.51 per hour — roughly $61,500 a year, with the real range running from about $19.46/hr (10th percentile) to $47.77/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Do you need a degree to be a explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blaster?
- The typical entry-level education is: High school diploma. Overall preparation level: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).
- What does a explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blaster actually do all day?
- Examine blast areas to determine amounts and kinds of explosive charges needed and to ensure that safety laws are observed. Tie specified lengths of delaying fuses into patterns in order to time sequences of explosions. Place safety cones around blast areas to alert other workers of danger zones, and signal workers as necessary to ensure that they clear blast sites prior to explosions.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS. Tasks & interests: O*NET. Career pathways shown in the app are draft archetypes — verify before relying on them. Trailhead is a free career guide for students — honest numbers, no hype.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.