Salary
Average Salary: $45,000
Expected Lifetime Earnings: $1,878,660
Let's face it: There are much safer and easier ways to make a buck. And unfortunately, the dangers faced are not always matched by a decent paycheck. Pyrotechnics is not going to make you a millionaire any time soon. Many professional pyrotechnicians don't even make a career out of it, and instead use it as a part-time side job, or even a hobby.
Your salary depends entirely upon how much you work. The more shows you work, the more cash you'll get paid. The size of the cash bag depends a lot on the size of the show; you'll get paid a heck of a lot more doing the Boston Pops 4th of July Extravaganza than you will shooting off a couple Go Getters at the local county fair.
Of course, if you play your cards right, you may end up lining up steady gigs in Vegas, Hollywood, or with a major sports team. These could earn you more than $60,000 a year, but as with anything in entertainment, lining up the work is more about who you know than how good you are. Odds are you'll be working gig to gig for large swaths of your career, especially in the beginning. You might make $2,000 off of one show, but you're more likely to make $200. Them's the breaks.
Bottom line: If you manage a steady career, build a business, and can deal with the seasonal changes and slower months―and don't blow yourself up in the process―you could take home $40,000–$50,000 a year (source). It's not exactly Beverly Hills money, but at least you're getting paid to make stuff 'splode.