How to Become an Ergonomist

There are multiple paths to becoming an ergonomist. Ergonomics is an interdisciplinary field. Its practitioners are trained with an emphasis on any portion. Ergonomics overlaps with the study of human-computer interaction (HCI), applied or engineering psychology and human factors. These field names are sometimes used as synonyms of ergonomics, but each tends to have a particular focus.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Attend college and graduate with a bachelor's degree. If you know in advance that you want to be an ergonimist, apply to a college with a related program. The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) website lists the available undergrad degree programs.

2. Get a graduate degree if you need to boost your credentials. The field of ergonomics is competitive and many jobs require advanced degrees. Ergonomists with master's degrees more often focus on usability testing, while those who have doctorates do more design work. HFES also has a list of graduate programs on their website.

3. Apply for an internship, part-time job or research position. One of the big hurdles to getting a job will be demonstrating that you can use your education. With more experience before you interview, you can draw connections between your past experience and the position you are seeking.

4. Search for jobs in the field. Try specialized websites such as HF Careers in addition to general job sites and newspapers.

Tips & Warnings

• Most liberal arts degrees can lead to careers in ergonomics if you go on to graduate study. Some ergonomics subfields may require a technical background in engineering or computer science. Otherwise a background in psychology, business, computer science or economics could be used to get an ergonomics job. Think in advance about how to relate your research, academic and work experience to the job field you want to enter.

Resources

• HFES has a list of degree programs in ergonomics and related fields
• Human Factors International's website has information about the field, especially HCI
• HF Careers is a job site with an ergonomics emphasis

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