Extraction Workers

How to become an Explosives Worker, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blaster

Official title: Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters

Also called: Blast Hole Driller, Blaster, Explosive Technician, Powderman, Unexploded Ordnance Quality Control Officer

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.

Main tasks

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.
Compile and keep gun and explosives records in compliance with local and federal laws.
Measure depths of drilled blast holes, using weighted tape measures.

How to become one

Typical education to start: High school diploma or equivalent

Ways in

Apprenticeship: Explosives and Weapons Technical Instructor.
Apprenticeship: Munitions Systems.
Licence: A licence is required in 26 states.

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

Median pay: $61,390 a year The middle half earn $49,630 to $80,370.
About 5,200 people work in this job now, and about 5,200 are projected by 2035. (+0%)
People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Questions people ask

How do I become an Explosives Worker, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blaster?

Ways in include: Explosives and Weapons Technical Instructor.

How much does an Explosives Worker, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blaster earn in the US?

Median full-time pay is $61,390 a year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The middle half earn $49,630 to $80,370.

Is an Explosives Worker, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blaster a growing career in the US?

Employment is projected to stay about the same by 2035: about 5,200 people now and 5,200 later (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Do you need a degree to become an Explosives Worker, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blaster?

Usually not. Only 10% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Explosives and Weapons Technical Instructor.

Will AI change the work of an Explosives Worker, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blaster?

People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Sources

Microsoft Research: Working with AI: AI applicability by occupation (2025-12-22 (built on O*NET 29.0)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment Projections (2025-35 (released 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

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 the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.