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The differences between blasters and explosive ordnance technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a blaster and an explosive ordnance technician. Additionally, an explosive ordnance technician has an average salary of $42,298, which is higher than the $41,789 average annual salary of a blaster.
The top three skills for a blaster include CDL, hand tools and ATF. The most important skills for an explosive ordnance technician are patrol, improvised explosive devices, and extraction.
Their duties may require them to process improvement techniques in yield, efficiency, and quality, provide technical expertise in internal and external manufacturing, manage external vendors, and arrange equipment purchases.
An Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technician is an expert that handles unexploded ammunition and secures the proper disposal of explosives and weaponry. They must be able to find, gather, and safely dispose of explosive devices. They assist federal, military, state, and local law enforcement agencies in anti-terrorism procedures. For this position, they must know how to locate and disable military, commercial, industrial, and improvised explosive devices and have experience as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Noncommissioned Officer.
Blasters and explosive ordnance technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Blaster | Explosive Ordnance Technician | |
| Average salary | $41,789 | $42,298 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $67,000 | Between $24,000 And $74,000 |
| Highest paying City | Newport News, VA | - |
| Highest paying state | Virginia | - |
| Best paying company | Siemens | - |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | - |
There are a few differences between a blaster and an explosive ordnance technician in terms of educational background:
| Blaster | Explosive Ordnance Technician | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Business | Criminal Justice |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between blasters' and explosive ordnance technicians' demographics:
| Blaster | Explosive Ordnance Technician | |
| Average age | 28 | 28 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 95.3% Female, 4.7% | Male, 91.6% Female, 8.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.8% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 22.2% Asian, 1.1% White, 60.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, -0.8% | Black or African American, 12.4% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 21.3% Asian, 2.1% White, 59.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |