Blaster vs explosive specialist

The differences between blasters and explosive specialists 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 specialist. Additionally, an explosive specialist has an average salary of $48,554, 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 specialist are radiological, hazardous materials, and response operations.

Blaster vs explosive specialist overview

	Blaster	Explosive Specialist
Yearly salary	$41,789	$48,554
Hourly rate	$20.09	$23.34
Growth rate	1%	3%
Number of jobs	219	1,090
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	28	28
Years of experience	4	4

Blaster vs explosive specialist salary

Blasters and explosive specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Blaster	Explosive Specialist
Average salary	$41,789	$48,554
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $67,000	Between $25,000 And $92,000
Highest paying City	Newport News, VA	-
Highest paying state	Virginia	-
Best paying company	Siemens	-
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	-

Differences between blaster and explosive specialist education

There are a few differences between a blaster and an explosive specialist in terms of educational background:

	Blaster	Explosive Specialist
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Blaster vs explosive specialist demographics

Here are the differences between blasters' and explosive specialists' demographics:

	Blaster	Explosive Specialist
Average age	28	28
Gender ratio	Male, 95.3% Female, 4.7%	Male, 80.7% Female, 19.3%
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, 13.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 22.9% Asian, 1.7% White, 57.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between blaster and explosive specialist duties and responsibilities

Blaster example responsibilities.

Blast rail freight cars with steel grit to achieve require blast profile per paint specifications or customer's request.
Blast paint off of aluminum wheels in cabinet.
Lead foreman - run pipe sandblasting crew on site at oil field refineries.
Operate bobcat, emulsion, truck, and other equipment necessary to blasting.
Transport sand and run a three man crew to keep things on a tight schedule.
Mentore and train international employees on policies and regulations regarding ammunition and explosives resulting in expanding foreign networking.

Explosive specialist example responsibilities.

Lead smoke generating squads, supervise reconnaissance and decontamination operation, and serve as company NBC NCO.
Transport demolition explosives and equipment to authorize disposal areas.
Develop and implement training procedures and strategies for radiological protection, detection, and decontamination.
Assist training units with incorporating teams into their battle rhythm, utilizing the latest CIED, and TTPs for battle areas.
Provide security for VIP in support of federal law enforcement.

Blaster vs explosive specialist skills

Common blaster skills

CDL, 25%
Hand Tools, 14%
ATF, 8%
Fall Protection, 6%
Blast Equipment, 6%
Grit, 5%

Common explosive specialist skills

Radiological, 35%
Hazardous Materials, 16%
Response Operations, 12%
Vulnerability Assessments, 10%
Local Law Enforcement, 9%
Maintenance Procedures, 9%