Best degree programs for Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters, ranked by enrollment
2 college programs and 51 schools train Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $61,390 median wage, 5,100 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
2 college programs at 51 schools train explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters, graduating 1,017 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Construction/Heavy Equipment/Earthmoving Equipment Operation. The job pays a median of $61,390 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters
Place and detonate explosives to demolish structures or to loosen, remove, or displace earth, rock, or other materials. May perform specialized handling, storage, and accounting procedures.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
2 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 49.0202 | 1,010 | 99.3% | 50 | $42,812 | $7,572 |
| 2 | CIP 46.0504 | 7 | 0.7% | 1 | $35,730 | $9,500 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | $55,180 | 330 | 5.98× | 5 | 100 |
| Louisianalimited | $39,900 | 130 | 2.01× | 1 | 84 |
| Indianalimited | $59,110 | 330 | 3.18× | 1 | 80 |
| Wisconsinmoderate | $52,400 | 60 | 0.65× | 3 | 77 |
| Californiamoderate | $80,370 | 220 | 0.37× | 3 | 76 |
| Pennsylvaniamoderate | $84,400 | — | — | 3 | 65 |
| Ohio | $46,630 | 120 | 0.67× | 5 | 57 |
| Missourilimited | $64,040 | 150 | 1.53× | 1 | 54 |
| Utahlimited | $67,910 | 50 | 0.96× | 2 | 53 |
| Mississippimoderate | $47,060 | 40 | 1.16× | 4 | 52 |
| New Yorklimited | $96,940 | — | — | 1 | 33 |
| South Dakotalimited | $56,780 | — | — | 1 | 31 |
| Kentuckylimited | $50,360 | 380 | 5.83× | 1 | 29 |
| Arkansaslimited | $53,120 | 90 | 2.20× | 2 | 27 |
| Floridamoderate | $69,780 | 90 | 0.27× | 4 | 19 |
| North Carolinalimited | $85,630 | 160 | 0.96× | 1 | 17 |
| Iowalimited | $39,520 | 90 | 1.78× | 1 | 6 |
| Texaslimited | $56,600 | 460 | 0.99× | 1 | 4 |
| Nevadalimited | $60,500 | 260 | 5.19× | 1 | 1 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Examine blast areas to determine amounts and kinds of explosive charges needed and to ensure that safety laws are observed.
- Tie specified lengths of delaying fuses into patterns in order to time sequences of explosions.
- Place safety cones around blast areas to alert other workers of danger zones, and signal workers as necessary to ensure that they clear blast sites prior to explosions.
- Place explosive charges in holes or other spots; then detonate explosives to demolish structures or to loosen, remove, or displace earth, rock, or other materials.
- Insert, pack, and pour explosives, such as dynamite, ammonium nitrate, black powder, or slurries into blast holes; then shovel drill cuttings, admit water into boreholes, and tamp material to compact charges.
- Mark patterns, locations, and depths of charge holes for drilling, and issue drilling instructions.
- Compile and keep gun and explosives records in compliance with local and federal laws.
- Measure depths of drilled blast holes, using weighted tape measures.
Skills
- Active Listening3.9
- Monitoring3.8
- Critical Thinking3.6
- Speaking3.4
- Active Learning3.1
- Reading Comprehension3.1
- Learning Strategies3.0
- Writing2.9
Knowledge areas
- Public Safety and Security4.1
- Law and Government4.0
- Mathematics3.7
- Engineering and Technology3.3
- Customer and Personal Service3.2
- Administration and Management3.2
Abilities
- Manual Dexterity4.0
- Problem Sensitivity4.0
- Near Vision4.0
- Inductive Reasoning3.9
- Deductive Reasoning3.9
- Arm-Hand Steadiness3.9
Core activities
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.4
- Getting Information4.3
- Documenting/Recording Information4.3
- Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards4.3
- Performing General Physical Activities4.3
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials4.2
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Explosives Worker
Job zone 2 of 5 · SVP Below 6.0- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Work experience needed
- Less than 5 years
- On-the-job training
- Long-term on-the-job training
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 3 majors mapped to Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters2 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 46.0504Well Drilling/Driller
- 46.0505Blasting/Blaster(no graduates reported)
- 49.0202Construction/Heavy Equipment/Earthmoving Equipment Operation
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become an Explosives Worker?+
High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Construction/Heavy Equipment/Earthmoving Equipment Operation, which awarded 1,010 degrees in 2024-25, 99.3% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming an Explosives Worker?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Ground Transportation, Plumbing and Related Water Supply Services. Together they graduate about 1,017 people a year.
How much do explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters earn?+
The median is $61,390 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $40,480 at the 10th percentile to $99,360 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters growing?+
BLS projects a -0.9% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 500 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
51 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 2 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Blaster, Powderman, Blast Hole Driller, Explosive Technician among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 47-5032.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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