Want to knock things down for a living? Become a demolition expert
Everybody secretly loves to demolish things, it’s human nature. Just watch any child on the beach as they spend all day building sand castles only to knock them down in 10 seconds flat. Building things is fun but destroying them is exciting. It’s certainly entertaining to watch a crane swing a wrecking ball into a once perfect wall or setting off explosives to implode an old chimney. So it’s no surprise that a small number of people every year decide to make a career out of this childhood obsession and get paid to knock down buildings for a living.
The Job Profile
Demolition workers are professional destroyers who work within strict safety guidelines to ensure towers, apartment blocks or any disused buildings are demolished in a safe and controlled manner. This is especially important when working within urban areas and before any work can begin, a full analysis of any potential hazards must be undertaken. Old buildings may contain asbestos or toxic liquids that would need to be removed before any demolition work could take place.
Being a demolition worker is certainly considered a dangerous job, explosives and heavy machinery are often used to tear down buildings with unpredictable results. Sharp debris could be sent into the air putting workers lives at risk. It’s also a noisy and dirty job at times but many would argue it’s also one of the most fun jobs in the world.
Depending on the aim of the demolition project, a variety of methods are used to knock down a building. If the purpose is to recycle the materials used in a building, a demolition crew will opt for sledgehammers and light machinery to carefully deconstruct the building. For quicker jobs, heavy machinery such as cranes with swing balls will be brought in to crush the building’s walls before letting the bulldozers clear the rubble.
If explosives are required, a trained and licensed blaster will strategically drill holes throughout a building before filling them with dynamite. The aim of any blaster is to make the building fall in a controlled manner within a safety zone. Blasters have the exciting role of pressing the button that makes the buildings go boom!
Entrance requirements & Salary
There are no formal requirements to become a demolition specialist. School and college leavers can gain entry into the field through apprenticeships with demolition firms and blasting contractors. Experienced construction workers and heavy machinery operators are also often recruited by the industry and learn the specialist demolition skills on the job. Experienced staff are certainly well rewarded for their hard work with some crews earning over $80,000 a year each. So if you’re looking for an outdoor’s job where you’re paid to destroy things every day, consider life as a demolition specialist.
