Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters
Agriculture, Food and Natural ResourcesO*NET 47-5032.00United States
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.
- Median annual earnings
- $61,381
- Projected change
- +0.5%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 18.62K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
66.7% of the workforce
Growing to 18.71K by 2035
Explore this career by location
Compare nationwide estimates with state or county job-market data.
Showing United States
Loading available locations…
Build the skills
ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
Loading related ASU learning
The work
What explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- 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.
- Connect electrical wire to primers, and cover charges or fill blast holes with clay, drill chips, sand, or other material.
- Lay primacord between rows of charged blast holes, and tie cord into main lines to form blast patterns.
- Assemble and position equipment, explosives, and blasting caps in holes at specified depths, or load perforating guns or torpedoes with explosives.
- Verify detonation of charges by observing control panels, or by listening for the sounds of blasts.
- Move and store inventories of explosives, loaded perforating guns, and other materials, according to established safety procedures.
- Light fuses, drop detonating devices into wells or boreholes, or activate firing devices with plungers, dials, or buttons, in order to set off single or multiple blasts.
- Drive trucks to transport explosives and blasting equipment to blasting sites.
- Cut specified lengths of primacord and attach primers to cord ends.
- Maintain inventory levels, ordering new supplies as necessary.
- Repair and service blasting, shooting, and automotive equipment, and electrical wiring and instruments, using hand tools.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $40,477
- 25th percentile
- $49,629
- 50th percentile
- $61,381
- 75th percentile
- $80,371
- 90th percentile
- $99,362
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $61,381 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+0.5%average or slower
202518,616 jobs
2035 projected18,709 jobs
93 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 66.7%
- Certificate
- 20.8%
- Some college
- 8.3%
- Associate degree
- 4.2%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Quarry Managers213 postings
- 02Utility People54 postings
- 03Mineral Crushing Operators42 postings
- 04Equipment Operators39 postings
- 05Painters/Blasters38 postings
- 06Blasters30 postings
- 07Asphalt Plant Operators23 postings
- 08Plant Operators16 postings
- 09Crusher Operators14 postings
- 10Engineering Equipment Operators11 postings
- 11Mobile Equipment Operators11 postings
- 12General Utilities10 postings
- 13Operators10 postings
- 14Plant Laborers9 postings
- 15Drivers/Laborers8 postings
- 16General Laborers8 postings
- 17General Operators8 postings
- 18Haul Truck Operators8 postings
- 19Underground Heavy Equipment Operators8 postings
- 20Utility Workers8 postings
Top employers
- 01Maine Drilling & Blasting80 postings
- 02CRH plc68 postings
- 03Pike Industries60 postings
- 04Amrize45 postings
- 05Rogers Group28 postings
- 06CRH Americas24 postings
- 07The Shelly Company21 postings
- 08New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co.20 postings
- 09Martin Marietta17 postings
- 10The H&K Group11 postings
- 11Apac Atlantic10 postings
- 12Oil-Dri Corporation Of America8 postings
- 13Ada County Highway District7 postings
- 14Precision Castparts7 postings
- 15The H.K. Group7 postings
- 16Haines & Kibblehouse6 postings
- 17Oldcastle APG6 postings
- 18Rock Pros USA6 postings
- 19Smyrna Ready Mix6 postings
- 20Staker Parson Companies6 postings
Keep looking