Pyrotechnician Salary: Fireworks for Pay

Name: Mike Tockstein
Job Title: Pyrotechnician (a.k.a. Pyrotechnic Operator)
Where: California
Employer: Independent Contractor for Pyro Spectaculars  
Years of Experience: Licensed Since 2001
Education: M.S. and B.S. in Electrical Engineering
Salary: A pyrotechnician salary is based on a percentage of individual show cost

Pyrotechnician Salary

For readers interested in becoming a pyrotechnician, there’s not a whole lot of info out there on the typical pyrotechnician salary or where to go for pyrotechnician training. Fortunately, we tracked down Mike Tockstein, a pyrotechnician who lit up this Salary Stories interview with info about pyrotechnician jobs, pyrotechnician employers, the general responsibilities of a pyrotechnician, and pyrotechnician training (as mentioned at his website, pyroinnovations.com). Mike also described the requirements for becoming a pyrotechnician and the average pyrotechnician salary. If you've ever wanted to shoot up the sky for pay, keep reading!

Pyrotechnician Job Description:

A pyrotechnician is responsible for the setup and discharge of a public fireworks display. He/she is knowledgeable about federal, state, and local laws regarding the safe setup and discharge of a fireworks display. He trains and supervises his own crew, who may or may not have to be licensed depending on which state you operate in. During most shows, an operator acts as an overseer, who goes between the different members of his crew to make sure all aspects of the show are set up properly.

Is there such thing as pyrotechnician training? How do you learn pyrotechnician skills?

First off, being a pyrotechnician is seldom a career. The only day you're really guaranteed work is on the Fourth of July. So I consider it more of a hobby. After gaining experience, I now shoot between 20-30 shows a year, hardly enough to make a living off of. I have been fascinated with fireworks since I was a small boy, and could not wait to get into the field. I did some research and could not really find any job offerings or training in becoming a pyrotechnician.

It turned out to be one of those fields where it really helps to know someone in order to get in. I would try to get as close as I could to the fireworks crews setting up the local displays where I grew up, hoping to get to talk to one of them. Eventually I did, and they referred me to the company I now shoot for. The laws vary slightly from state to state, but in California you need to work on different crews (to gain experience) for a minimum of two years, shooting at least 8 public displays in those two years, obtain five written letters of recommendations from other licensed operators, then submit your application to the State Fire Marshal's Office.

Once they determine you are eligible (after a thorough background check), you take the written exam which covers all of the state fireworks laws. It doesn't end there. You then must obtain a commercial drivers license with a hazardous materials endorsement in order to transport the fireworks to/from your show site. You must be at least 18 years old to work on a crew, and 21 to get a license. This will probably come as no surprise, I was licensed two weeks after my 21st birthday.

What advice would you give to those interested in becoming a pyrotechnician?

If you live in Southern California, I'll get you out on a show. There is a simple step-by- step process on my website, pyroinnovations.com, on how to join my professional fireworks crew. If you don't reside in Southern California, your best bet is to contact your local fireworks display company and they should be able to set you up with a crew.

If you don't know who the local companies are, contact your State Fire Marshal's Office and they should be able to give you a list of them. Although it's not required to have a technical background to become a licensed operator, it does help you better understand what you are dealing with and make you better at debugging the technical issues at a show. So it's my personal recommendation that you major in either one of the sciences or engineering disciplines while in college.

What is the average pyrotechnician salary?

Pyrotechnicians are considered "independent contractors" in most cases. So there is no set pyrotechnician salary. You are paid on a show by show basis. Typically, display companies will pay an operator a percentage of the actual show cost. So the bigger the show, the more money you make. I have made anywhere from $100 to well over $2000 for one show.

But you have to remember that pyrotechnician salaries are not all profit. I always feed my crew, buy supplies, and pay the crew on the shows where it is practical. If I get paid $100 and I have 4 people that came out to crew for me that day, it's just not practical to pay anyone, especially after feeding them; those shows are just volunteer. I consider this a hobby that I would do for free in most cases, so getting paid is just a bonus.

How does your salary compare to the averge pyrotechnician salary? Use PayScale's Salary Calculator to get basic salary data on thousands of positions.

• Pyrotechnician Training
• Becoming a Pyrotechnician - FirePreventionGeek.blogspot.com
• More on Becoming a Pyrotechnician from Mike Tockstein

Comments

[joel]

becoming a pyrotechnician sounds cool, but pay is too low. anyways, thanks for training info.

[Linda]

I'm in NY State and the same is true here. We spilt a percentage of the show w/the other shooters. It depends on how many years you've been w/the company (seniority) and of course, the lead and/or driver gets a higher cut. I've made as little as $11/hr and as much as $33/hr. I get between 9 and 12 jobs a year. Here in NY state(western NY)the season is short due to weather but, I do seem to get called out for New Years Eve every year.

It's interesting talking to folks & finding out what they do full-time. We have Doctors to Truck Drivers & everything in between. I do network security.

Our company still predominantly hand shoots. That would be, lighting the explosive w/a road flare. We do wire up some of the longer finallies and anything 8 inches or bigger.

Basically at heart, we're all pyros & would most likely do it for a smile ;-) but,
it's Great to get paid for blowing things up!

[anthony]

do u need a collage degree to be a Pyrotechnician

[Shawn]

You don't need a college degree to be a pytotechnician, actually it's all hands on training. I am one of the owner's of RS Fireworks out of NH. This year we are going to be paying all of our shooters very well for all of our shows, so I guess it depends on the company and how much they want to give out. Although, I would probably shoot for free because it's a great time.

[Gogosh]

I'm fireworks pyrotechnician in Croatia (in East Europe). Conditions are almost the same, but under certain conditions you can find full time job with fixed salary. There are several companies specialized for fireworks and stage effects and they have enough jobs all over the year to cover salaries. i finished specialization in Germany and have own company for fireworks. Some informations you can find on my blog page, with photos, but text is in croatian language. http://pirotehnika.blogspot.com

[Kaitlyn Coker]

I appreciate this information so much i am 15 and i am doing a school project about what i want to be when i grow up. i have alway been interested in becoming a pyrotechnican. i have researched very much and came up with very little results until now. i have sent letters to associations and emails but i still havent gotten the information needed. i have herd that you can go into military training for this except instead of fireworks its more of bombs and other explosives. but im not sure if thats true. if i could ever set up an interview over email or phone that would be great! unless you want to come all the way to alabama! please contact me on the email listed.

[Tyler]

I'm in WA State and the same is true here. We spilt a percentage of the show w/the other shooters. It depends on how many years you've been w/the company (seniority) and of course, the lead and/or driver gets a higher cut. I've made as little as $100/hr and as much as $330/hr. I get between 90 and 120 jobs a year. Here in WA state the season is short due to weather but, I do seem to get called out for New Years Eve every year.