How To Become An Explosive Ordnance Handler: What It Is and Career Path

What is an explosive ordnance handler and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an explosive ordnance handler. For example, did you know that they make an average of $21.05 an hour? That's $43,778 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 20,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreExplosive Ordnance HandlerUS Average

Salary

3.4

Avg. Salary $43,778

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.7

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

0.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native -0.66%

Asian 1.70%

Black or African American 13.85%

Hispanic or Latino 22.28%

Unknown 3.77%

White 59.05%

Gender

female 11.02%

male 88.98%

Age - 25

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 25

Stress level

8.7

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.4

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

2.1

Work life balance is very poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an explosive ordnance handler

Explore explosive ordnance handler education requirements

Most common explosive ordnance handler degrees

High School Diploma

31.9 %

Associate

25.5 %

Bachelor's

19.1 %

Start to develop specific explosive ordnance handler skills

Skills	Percentages
Hand Trucks	51.62%
Hazardous Materials	13.75%
Law Enforcement Agencies	10.41%
Ammunition	7.89%
Incident Reports	6.37%

Complete relevant explosive ordnance handler training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 2-4 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New explosive ordnance handlers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an explosive ordnance handler based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real explosive ordnance handler resumes.

Research explosive ordnance handler duties and responsibilities

Conduct foot patrol and/or vehicle patrol independently on premises.
Perform explosives testing using energetic materials following DoD safety procedures for ordinance disposal.
Respond to calls from military/combat personnel.

Prepare your explosive ordnance handler resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your explosive ordnance handler resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an explosive ordnance handler resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable explosive ordnance handler resume templates

Build a professional explosive ordnance handler resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your explosive ordnance handler resume.