Construction & Extraction
Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters
Also called: Blast Hole Driller, Blaster, Explosive Technician, Powderman
US median pay
$61,390
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
0%
about average or slower
Openings a year (US)
400
5,200 employed
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
Preparation 2/5 · Some preparation
What this job is
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 they do day to 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.
- 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.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Judgment and Decision Making3.6/5
- Operations Monitoring3.5/5
- Operation and Control3.5/5
- Time Management3.4/5
- Complex Problem Solving3.4/5
- Coordination3.1/5
- Management of Personnel Resources3.0/5
- Instructing3.0/5
Knowledge
- Public Safety and Security4.1/5
- Law and Government4.0/5
- Mathematics3.7/5
- Engineering and Technology3.3/5
- Transportation3.2/5
- Customer and Personal Service3.2/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 2 of 5 — Some preparation. Usually a high school diploma; some previous work experience or training helps.
Typical entry education (BLS): High school diploma or equivalent, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
Highest education of people in this job:
- High school diploma62%
- Post-secondary certificate21%
Who this job suits
Mostly Realistic
Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
Conventional
Organising data, details and procedures
Investigative
Ideas, research and solving problems
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.