Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists
Design objects, facilities, and environments to optimize human well-being and overall system performance, applying theory, principles, and data regarding the relationship between humans and respective technology. Investigate and analyze characteristics of human behavior and performance as it relates to the use of technology.
Most important skills
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Writing
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Complex Problem Solving
- Active Learning
- Judgment and Decision Making
Key knowledge
- Psychology
- English Language
- Design
- Engineering and Technology
- Education and Training
- Mathematics
- Customer and Personal Service
- Sociology and Anthropology
What the work involves
- Write, review, or comment on documents, such as proposals, test plans, or procedures.
- Train users in task techniques or ergonomic principles.
- Review health, safety, accident, or worker compensation records to evaluate safety program effectiveness or to identify jobs with high incidence of injury.
- Provide human factors technical expertise on topics, such as advanced user-interface technology development or the role of human users in automated or autonomous sub-systems in advanced vehicle systems.
- Investigate theoretical or conceptual issues, such as the human design considerations of lunar landers or habitats.
- Estimate time or resource requirements for ergonomic or human factors research or development projects.
- Conduct interviews or surveys of users or customers to collect information on topics, such as requirements, needs, fatigue, ergonomics, or interfaces.
- Recommend workplace changes to improve health and safety, using knowledge of potentially harmful factors, such as heavy loads or repetitive motions.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Investigative, Realistic, Conventional.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Master's Degree (50% of respondents)
- Related experience
- None (25%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (30%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 5: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
- Projection education uses SOC 17-2112 (detailed_parent); it may describe a broader group.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Low | Lower on contact with others than 78% of occupations compared | 50% of surveyed respondents chose “Contact with others most of the time” |
| Dealing with the public | Moderate | Lower on dealing with the public than 50% of occupations compared | 40% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important” |
| Teamwork | Low | Lower on teamwork than 63% of occupations compared | 39% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very high | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 87% of occupations compared | 60% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Low | Lower on time pressure than 72% of occupations compared | 50% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | Low | Lower on conflict situations than 70% of occupations compared | 53% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 79% of occupations compared | 63% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | Low | Lower on consequence of error than 69% of occupations compared | 26% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: low
- Conflict situations: low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: low
- Consequence of error: low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 15%
- Contact with others about half the time: 5%
- Contact with others most of the time: 50%
- Constant contact with others: 30%
n = 20, Occupational Expert 08/2024
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 10%
- Fairly important: 10%
- Important: 25%
- Very important: 40%
- Extremely important: 15%
n = 20, Occupational Expert 08/2024
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 5.56%
- Important: 16.67%
- Very important: 38.89%
- Extremely important: 38.89%
n = 18, Occupational Expert 08/2024
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 0%
- Some freedom: 40%
- A lot of freedom: 60%
n = 20, Occupational Expert 08/2024
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 5%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 40%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 50%
- Every day: 5%
n = 20, Occupational Expert 08/2024
Conflict situations
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 47.37%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 52.63%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 0%
- Every day: 0%
n = 19, Occupational Expert 08/2024
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 5.26%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 63.16%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 26.32%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 5.26%
- Every day: 0%
n = 19, Occupational Expert 08/2024
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 21.05%
- Fairly serious: 26.32%
- Serious: 26.32%
- Very serious: 26.32%
- Extremely serious: 0%
n = 19, Occupational Expert 08/2024
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O*NET-SOC 17-2112.01 · SOC 17-2112 (detailed_parent, medium confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8