Blaster vs explosive technician

The differences between blasters and explosive 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 technician. Additionally, an explosive technician has an average salary of $42,968, 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 technician are CDL, hazardous materials, and safety procedures.

Blaster vs explosive technician overview

	Blaster	Explosive Technician
Yearly salary	$41,789	$42,968
Hourly rate	$20.09	$20.66
Growth rate	1%	1%
Number of jobs	219	24,922
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 55%	High School Diploma, 35%
Average age	28	28
Years of experience	4	4

Blaster vs explosive technician salary

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

	Blaster	Explosive Technician
Average salary	$41,789	$42,968
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $67,000	Between $27,000 And $66,000
Highest paying City	Newport News, VA	-
Highest paying state	Virginia	-
Best paying company	Siemens	-
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	-

Differences between blaster and explosive technician education

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

	Blaster	Explosive Technician
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 55%	High School Diploma, 35%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Blaster vs explosive technician demographics

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

	Blaster	Explosive Technician
Average age	28	28
Gender ratio	Male, 95.3% Female, 4.7%	Male, 95.5% Female, 4.5%
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, 12.9% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 24.9% Asian, 1.9% White, 56.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, -0.2%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between blaster and explosive technician 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 technician example responsibilities.

Run the aluminum machines to supply the production with the right amount of aluminum to be send to its next step.
Fabricate explosive demolition charges, and dispose of hazardous explosives.
Compose written reports of data collect from patient evaluation and present to department chief for thorough analysis of patient diagnosis.
Haul ammonium nitrate and explosives detonators to rock quarry.
Operate contaminate waste processor unit (CWP).
Operate monitoring systems for various demil and recycle equipment via remote cameras and computer data output.

Blaster vs explosive technician skills

Common blaster skills

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

Common explosive technician skills

CDL, 27%
Hazardous Materials, 24%
Safety Procedures, 22%
ATF, 6%
DOT, 6%
EOD, 5%