Human factors engineer vs ergonomist

The differences between human factors engineers and ergonomists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a human factors engineer, becoming an ergonomist takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a human factors engineer has an average salary of $96,427, which is higher than the $57,723 average annual salary of an ergonomist.

The top three skills for a human factors engineer include user research, human centered design and user experience. The most important skills for an ergonomist are analysis tools, assembly plant, and OSHA.

Human factors engineer vs ergonomist overview

	Human Factors Engineer	Ergonomist
Yearly salary	$96,427	$57,723
Hourly rate	$46.36	$27.75
Growth rate	10%	6%
Number of jobs	57,075	2,197
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age	42	45
Years of experience	4	6

Human factors engineer vs ergonomist salary

Human factors engineers and ergonomists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Human Factors Engineer	Ergonomist
Average salary	$96,427	$57,723
Salary range	Between $74,000 And $124,000	Between $33,000 And $100,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	New York, NY
Highest paying state	New Jersey	Connecticut
Best paying company	Twitter	Tesla
Best paying industry	Technology	-

Differences between human factors engineer and ergonomist education

There are a few differences between a human factors engineer and an ergonomist in terms of educational background:

	Human Factors Engineer	Ergonomist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common major	Psychology	Industrial Engineering
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Human factors engineer vs ergonomist demographics

Here are the differences between human factors engineers' and ergonomists' demographics:

	Human Factors Engineer	Ergonomist
Average age	42	45
Gender ratio	Male, 63.9% Female, 36.1%	Male, 62.5% Female, 37.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 11.5% White, 67.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 5.0% White, 70.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	4%	7%

Differences between human factors engineer and ergonomist duties and responsibilities

Human factors engineer example responsibilities.

Manage and conduct fusion analysis of HUMINT, SIGINT, IMINT and OSINT.
Provision, manage and deploy dedicated Linux hosting solutions for various small businesses.
Accomplish QA of inspector worksheets during shipboard inspection, and generate certification report for government approval.
Procure EEG, ergonomic testing equipment, receive approvals from elementary schools, school districts, and parents.
Develop and maintain spreadsheets and SharePoint sites.
Develop HCI operational concepts and requirements for the control and monitoring of space shuttle payloads.

Ergonomist example responsibilities.

Maximize productivity through coordinating and managing efforts between service engineers, sales personnel and external OEM automation programmers.
Follow OSHA safety standards and help develop numerous hospital protocols of ongoing proficiency standards of excellence in multiple capacities.
Collaborate within teams to create essential safety documentation to satisfy ISO requirements.

Human factors engineer vs ergonomist skills

Common human factors engineer skills

User Research, 6%
Human Centered Design, 6%
User Experience, 6%
FDA, 5%
Medical Devices, 5%
Data Collection, 4%

Common ergonomist skills

Analysis Tools, 37%
Assembly Plant, 13%
OSHA, 13%
Injury Prevention, 13%
Body Mechanics, 10%
Workstations, 8%