How easy is it to get a entry level job as a pyrotechnician?

February 7, 2004 6:48 AM

How easy is it to get a entry level job as a pyrotechnician? I ran into this guy at the local computer surplus store and we got to talking about his hat. It turns out that he works for a fireworks display company. One of the things he said was that it was relatively easy to get hired as a helper at this company after taking one of their introductory seminars. This caught my interest and also pinged my scam detector. Going online I notice that most firework companies seem to run introductory seminars. I'm guessing that these courses are a nice revenue source for pyrotechnics companies. Has anyone taken any of these courses? If so, did you actually get to work on displays afterward? Was the course fun enough to be worth doing just for itself?
posted by rdr to Work & Money (2 answers total)

I don't know. However, I do have a good friend who is a real pyrotechnics expert who would be able to give you the straight skinny since he works with many different kinds of fireworks companies often. His website is here and his name is Wally, AKA Pyroboy. I suggest dropping him an email if not one else has first-hand advice.
posted by jessamyn at 8:36 AM on February 7, 2004

One piece of advice gleaned from alt.pyrotechnics: Never take your work home with you and store it in your basement. Ever.
posted by mecran01 at 7:32 PM on February 7, 2004