Explosive ordnance handler vs explosives engineer

The differences between explosive ordnance handlers and explosives engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an explosive ordnance handler and an explosives engineer. Additionally, an explosives engineer has an average salary of $56,441, which is higher than the $43,778 average annual salary of an explosive ordnance handler.

The top three skills for an explosive ordnance handler include hand trucks, hazardous materials and law enforcement agencies. The most important skills for an explosives engineer are safety guidelines, ATF, and .

Explosive ordnance handler vs explosives engineer overview

	Explosive Ordnance Handler	Explosives Engineer
Yearly salary	$43,778	$56,441
Hourly rate	$21.05	$27.14
Growth rate	3%	4%
Number of jobs	27,028	518
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Average age	28	28
Years of experience	4	4

Explosive ordnance handler vs explosives engineer salary

Explosive ordnance handlers and explosives engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Explosive Ordnance Handler	Explosives Engineer
Average salary	$43,778	$56,441
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $78,000	Between $37,000 And $84,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between explosive ordnance handler and explosives engineer education

There are a few differences between an explosive ordnance handler and an explosives engineer in terms of educational background:

	Explosive Ordnance Handler	Explosives Engineer
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Electrical Engineering
Most common college	-	-

Explosive ordnance handler vs explosives engineer demographics

Here are the differences between explosive ordnance handlers' and explosives engineers' demographics:

	Explosive Ordnance Handler	Explosives Engineer
Average age	28	28
Gender ratio	Male, 89.0% Female, 11.0%	Male, 95.7% Female, 4.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 13.9% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 22.3% Asian, 1.7% White, 59.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, -0.7%	Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 21.2% Asian, 0.9% White, 60.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between explosive ordnance handler and explosives engineer duties and responsibilities

Explosive ordnance handler example 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.

Explosives engineer example responsibilities.

Blast rail freight cars with steel grit to achieve require blast profile per paint specifications or customer's request.
Require to know and follow OHSA, MSHA, ATF and state/Federal regulations.
Compile post blast report for ATF, MSHA to insure blasting guidelines are met.
Train personnel to perform basic demolition, mine clearing, combat construction operations, and treat wound soldiers.
Stabilize rock walls and slopes using rock bolts, split sets and blasting techniques for CDOT and various mines.
Operate and monitor light and heavy engineer combat vehicles and heavy equipment.

Explosive ordnance handler vs explosives engineer skills

Common explosive ordnance handler skills

Hand Trucks, 52%
Hazardous Materials, 14%
Law Enforcement Agencies, 10%
Ammunition, 8%
Incident Reports, 6%
CDL, 6%

Common explosives engineer skills

Safety Guidelines, 76%
ATF, 24%

Explosive Ordnance Handler vs. similar jobs

Explosive Ordnance Handler related careers

Explosive Ordnance Handler related jobs

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Blaster responsibilities

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Explosive Ordnance Handler
Explosive Ordnance Handler vs Explosives Engineer

Updated January 8, 2025

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