Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists
Also known as: Board Certified Ergonomist, Certified Professional Ergonomist, Cognitive Engineer (+19 more)
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.
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What You'll Do
- 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.
- Provide technical support to clients through activities, such as rearranging workplace fixtures to reduce physical hazards or discomfort or modifying task sequences to reduce cycle time.
- Prepare reports or presentations summarizing results or conclusions of human factors engineering or ergonomics activities, such as testing, investigation, or validation.
Essential Skills
Career Fit Overview
Use this summary to understand the kind of profile this role rewards. It helps you judge whether this career looks like a stronger match than your current role, a nearby move worth exploring, or a broader path to compare more seriously.
Top passions
- Analyst: Investigating problems and finding patterns keeps you engaged.
- Maker: Building and fixing energizes you. You like tangible results and practical tools.
- Organizer: Bringing order to data and processes satisfies you.
Common styles
Attention to Detail, Intellectual Curiosity, Innovation, Dependability, Achievement Orientation
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Key Abilities
This career demands strong capabilities in the following areas:
Technologies & Tools
Work Environment & Strengths
Common Strengths for This Career
- Attention to Detail (High importance: 4.75/5)
- Intellectual Curiosity (High importance: 4.58/5)
- Innovation (High importance: 4.57/5)
- Dependability (High importance: 4.46/5)
- Achievement Orientation (High importance: 4.3/5)
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This career requires extensive preparation, typically including a graduate degree (Master's or Doctoral) and several years of experience. Most professionals in this field have invested significant time in education and training.
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Also Known As
This career is known by many different job titles across industries. Here are all the variations:
Career Fit FAQs
Is this career a good fit for me
This page shows the role itself. To see personal fit, use the assessment to compare your interests, motivations, and strengths against this career and against the role you are in now.
Can this help if I want to stay in my field
Yes. Many people use career pages like this to compare nearby roles in the same field and see whether they need a full switch or a better-fit version of the work they already know.
What should I compare first
Start with the daily tasks, the preparation level, and the work-style signals on this page. Then use the assessment to see whether this role looks like a stronger fit than your current role or just a different title.
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