Career profile · 47-5032
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 the work can involve
- 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.
Selected core tasks from O*NET 31.0. Responsibilities vary by employer, specialization and experience.
Preparation and entry routes
This broad O*NET group commonly involves some prior preparation and on-the-job learning. Check the specific employer, occupational credential and state requirements.
Check the route for the specific occupation where you plan to work. Education, employer experience requirements, occupational licensing and industry certification can be separate steps.
Understand the different credentials →Skills used in this occupation
- Active Listening
- Monitoring
- Critical Thinking
- Speaking
- Active Learning
Selected from the highest importance ratings available in O*NET 31.0. These describe the occupation, not a particular school's curriculum.
Knowledge to build
- Public Safety and Security
- Law and Government
- Mathematics
- Engineering and Technology
- Administration and Management
Selected from the highest importance ratings available in O*NET 31.0. These describe the occupation, not a particular school's curriculum.
Common work activities
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems
- Getting Information
- Documenting/Recording Information
- Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards
- Performing General Physical Activities
Selected from the highest importance ratings available in O*NET 31.0. These describe the occupation, not a particular school's curriculum.
Training subjects to investigate
The federal education-to-occupation crosswalk connects this role to the subjects below. These links do not endorse a school or guarantee that any particular award qualifies a graduate for the job.
Working conditions to consider
These are the most common published responses to selected O*NET work-setting questions. They describe occupation-level survey findings, not every employer or a particular job.
| Work-setting question | Most common response | Share giving that response |
|---|---|---|
| Contact With Others | Constant contact with others | 50.0%06/2006 · sample 24 |
| Exposed to Contaminants | Every day | 66.7%06/2006 · sample 24 |
| Exposed to Disease or Infections | Never | 87.5%06/2006 · sample 24 |
| Exposed to Hazardous Conditions | Every day | 83.3%06/2006 · sample 24 |
| Spend Time Sitting | Less than half the time | 72.7%06/2006 · sample 22 |
| Spend Time Standing | Continually or almost continually | 50.0%06/2006 · sample 22 |
| Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls | Continually or almost continually | 60.9%06/2006 · sample 23 |
| Time Pressure | Every day | 52.2%06/2006 · sample 23 |
| Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets | Every day | 100.0%06/2006 · sample 24 |
| Work Schedules | Irregular (changes with weather conditions, production demands, or contract duration) | 79.2%06/2006 · sample 24 |
O*NET 31.0 Work Context, selected topics. Only unsuppressed source responses with sample size at least 10 are shown. A most-common response need not be a majority. Sampling uncertainty applies; source dates vary. Ask employers about actual schedules, accessibility, protective equipment and working conditions.
Software used in the workplace
Use these O*NET examples to ask how a course builds practical digital skills. They are workplace examples, not a required shopping list or confirmation of a school’s curriculum.
- Analytical or scientific software: Blaster's Tool and Supply Company Blaster's Calculator, Datavis DBS Designer, DetNet ViewShot
- Computer aided design CAD software: Autodesk AutoCAD
- Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook
- Geographic information system: ESRI ArcGIS software
- Mobile location based services software: Global positioning system GPS software
- Office suite software: Microsoft Office software
- Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint
- Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel
- Word processing software: Microsoft Word
Selected categories and examples from O*NET 31.0 Software Skills. Products and employer requirements change. These examples are not endorsements; check the complete official occupation profile.
Pay & employment outlook
Salary estimates for explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters
The median divides workers into two equally sized groups by pay. It is not a starting salary, a school’s graduate outcome or a promise of employment. Lower percentiles are not automatically new graduates.
National outlook: 2025–2035
- Typical education for entry
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Related work experience
- Less than 5 years
- Typical on-the-job training
- Long-term on-the-job training
BLS national employment projections, 2025–2035. Openings include people leaving occupations or the labor force; these are not advertised vacancies. Education categories describe typical entry, not legal eligibility or a guarantee that any specific program is sufficient.
Compare wages across 32 state/DC estimates
| State | Annual median | Hourly median | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $59,820 | $28.76 | 100 |
| Arkansas | $53,120 | $25.54 | 90 |
| California | $80,370 | $38.64 | 220 |
| Colorado | $69,640 | $33.48 | 140 |
| Florida | $69,780 | $33.55 | 90 |
| Georgia | $61,480 | $29.56 | 70 |
| Hawaii | $64,560 | $31.04 | 110 |
| Idaho | $60,360 | $29.02 | Not published |
| Illinois | $60,520 | $29.10 | 110 |
| Indiana | $59,110 | $28.42 | 330 |
| Iowa | $39,520 | $19.00 | 90 |
| Kentucky | $50,360 | $24.21 | 380 |
| Louisiana | $39,900 | $19.18 | 130 |
| Maryland | $59,720 | $28.71 | Not published |
| Mississippi | $47,060 | $22.63 | 40 |
| Missouri | $64,040 | $30.79 | 150 |
| Nevada | $60,500 | $29.09 | 260 |
| New Jersey | $100,520 | $48.33 | Not published |
| New Mexico | $78,960 | $37.96 | 80 |
| New York | $96,940 | $46.61 | Not published |
| North Carolina | $85,630 | $41.17 | 160 |
| Ohio | $46,630 | $22.42 | 120 |
| Oklahoma | $55,180 | $26.53 | 330 |
| Pennsylvania | $84,400 | $40.58 | Not published |
| South Dakota | $56,780 | $27.30 | Not published |
| Tennessee | $74,190 | $35.67 | 70 |
| Texas | $56,600 | $27.21 | 460 |
| Utah | $67,910 | $32.65 | 50 |
| Virginia | $63,920 | $30.73 | 80 |
| West Virginia | $49,630 | $23.86 | 50 |
| Wisconsin | $52,400 | $25.19 | 60 |
| Wyoming | $85,070 | $40.90 | 60 |
Metropolitan and nonmetropolitan wages
Search the 23 published local-area estimates for this occupation. Metropolitan areas can cross state lines; a city’s postal name is not necessarily the statistical area’s name.
Sources: BLS May 2025 OEWS public downloads and 2025–2035 employment projections, retrieved September 9, 2026. Unpublished estimates stay unavailable. “+” means BLS’s upper reporting threshold ($239,200 annually or $115 hourly). Wages exclude self-employment and nonwage benefits. How to interpret these figures.
Compare the route and prepare for work
Questions to test the fit
- What does an entry-level working day look like, and how does it differ from the experienced role described here?
- Which tasks, work environments and schedules would I enjoy or find difficult?
- What education, supervised practice and credentials do local employers actually request?
- Can I speak with someone in the occupation or arrange a suitable workplace visit?
- How does the complete training cost compare with my realistic budget and available routes?
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Related through shared training-subject mappings. Entry requirements can differ substantially.
Sources and attribution
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. Trade School Guides selects and organizes the material and adds explanatory guidance. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. Occupation code: 47-5032.00.
Training connections: CIP 2020–SOC 2018 crosswalk. Snapshot: September 8, 2026. See the methodology.