Explosive ordnance technicians work with undetonated explosives and make sure that they are disposed of properly. They can work with all kinds of explosives, from pipe bombs to underwater mines to nuclear weapons. Most work for the army, law enforcement, or government agencies handling the disposal of military equipment such as land mines. An average day as an explosive ordnance technician can involve storing discarded military munitions, analyzing an area to identify potential explosive threats, or leading a sensitive bomb removal operation. This is the kind of job where steady hands and the ability to think clearly under pressure are a must.
While some explosive ordnance technicians have bachelor's degrees, this isn't the kind of skill that is taught in the average classroom. Instead, most explosive ordnance technicians learn how to work with munitions on the job when they join the army or a law enforcement agency.
On average, explosive ordnance technicians earn $46,445 a year. This is a stressful career with far more risks than an average office job, but many explosive ordnance technicians enjoy their work because they know they are helping to save lives.
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an explosive ordnance technician. For example, did you know that they make an average of $26.72 an hour? That's $55,583 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 4,700 job opportunities across the U.S.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be an explosive ordnance technician, we found that a lot of resumes listed 22.0% of explosive ordnance technicians included law enforcement, while 21.9% of resumes included explosive devices, and 13.5% of resumes included eod. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
If you're interested in becoming an explosive ordnance technician, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 49.0% of explosive ordnance technicians have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 4.8% of explosive ordnance technicians have master's degrees. Even though most explosive ordnance technicians have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become an explosive ordnance technician. When we researched the most common majors for an explosive ordnance technician, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or associate degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on explosive ordnance technician resumes include high school diploma degrees or master's degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become an explosive ordnance technician. In fact, many explosive ordnance technician jobs require experience in a role such as team leader. Meanwhile, many explosive ordnance technicians also have previous career experience in roles such as technician or support team member.