shotfirer
Shotfirers set up and safely detonate explosives at a site in order to blast and break up in situ material.
shotfirer shotfirers set up and safely detonate explosives at a site in order to blast and break up in situ material. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.50 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include explosives, marksmanship, electricity, work ergonomically, insert charges into drill holes.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £38,301 a year for Mining and quarry workers and related operatives (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 8132). ONS rates this estimate reasonably precise. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Craft and related trades workers” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only shotfirer, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 7. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- Public Safety and Security
- Law and Government
- Mathematics
- Engineering and Technology
- Customer and Personal Service
- Administration and Management
- Transportation
- English Language
What you'd actually do
- 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.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does shotfirer do?
Shotfirers set up and safely detonate explosives at a site in order to blast and break up in situ material.
What skills does shotfirer need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include explosives, marksmanship, electricity, work ergonomically, insert charges into drill holes, troubleshoot. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace shotfirer?
Our AI-durability model gives shotfirer a score of 0.50 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.