Explosive technician vs shot blaster

The differences between explosive technicians and shot blasters 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 technician and a shot blaster. Additionally, a shot blaster has an average salary of $48,815, which is higher than the $42,968 average annual salary of an explosive technician.

Explosive technician vs shot blaster overview

	Explosive Technician	Shot Blaster
Yearly salary	$42,968	$48,815
Hourly rate	$20.66	$23.47
Growth rate	1%	4%
Number of jobs	24,922	203
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 35%	High School Diploma, 78%
Average age	28	28
Years of experience	4	4

Explosive technician vs shot blaster salary

Explosive technicians and shot blasters have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Explosive Technician	Shot Blaster
Average salary	$42,968	$48,815
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $66,000	Between $24,000 And $99,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between explosive technician and shot blaster education

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

	Explosive Technician	Shot Blaster
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 35%	High School Diploma, 78%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Explosive technician vs shot blaster demographics

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

	Explosive Technician	Shot Blaster
Average age	28	28
Gender ratio	Male, 95.5% Female, 4.5%	Male, 97.9% Female, 2.1%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.9% Asian, 1.0% White, 66.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, -1.1%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between explosive technician and shot blaster duties and responsibilities

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.

Shot blaster example responsibilities.

Blast rail freight cars with steel grit to achieve require blast profile per paint specifications or customer's request.
Deliver hands on training for current employees and new hires to increase awareness of and compliance with OSHA and state regulations.
Sandblast trailers, wash and clean trailers prep trailers for painting booth.

Explosive technician vs shot blaster skills

Common explosive technician skills

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

Common shot blaster skills

Explosive Technician vs. similar jobs

Explosive Technician related careers

Explosive Technician related jobs

What similar roles do

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse construction and extraction jobs