I’m thinking of pursuing a bachelors degree in Cognitive Science, with a specialization in design and interaction (UX/UI). Would it be realistic to land an entry level job after finishing undergrad? How competitive is the job market for human factors engineers, especially in aviation?
I have a bachelor's in cognitive science and following graduation, I was a research assistant for a year at a very good university investigating cognition in patients with severe mental illness. My main responsibilities were programming (in Python) the experiments we'd run participants through while they were hooked up to EEG/fMRI.
I'm now a clinical research coordinator at another very good university in the same city, managing hospital-based clinical studies - one of which was on medical devices. I may get authorship on this study but the enrollment rates were very poor and if anything, the paper would be about feasibility rather than the data yielded by the devices themselves. However, I really enjoyed being on the hospital floor and applying the devices to patients, and seeing them work in real time.
Originally, my aspirations were to pursue a PhD in cognitive or clinical psychology, or cognitive neuroscience. I will be applying to some programs in these fields this Fall, but I want to have an industry backup plan in case things don't work out or I decide to turn away from academia. I took a human factors course in undergrad and did very well in it because I enjoyed it so much, and it has been on my radar ever since then.
I was thinking of applying to Minnesota's human factors Masters, or even PhD, along with my other programs. But I wanted to ask how the job market is doing, and whether I'd just be led to a dead end if I were to pursue this career. I also wanted to ask if I could continue to study things in the realm of cognitive psychology and/or medical devices (I know the latter is much easier to answer).
I've seen people say that this field is increasingly difficult to break into, that job stability is fickle because of contract-based roles, and that some people feel very underpaid. Is this true, and would you recommend human factors as a career to someone in my position?
Hey everyone,
I’m starting my Master’s in Human Factors and honestly I’m having a bit of a career crisis before I’ve even started lol.
I know the job market is bad right now. I’m not really asking whether it’s difficult to find a job currently. I know it is. What I’m more worried about is whether Human Factors itself is becoming a dying or declining field.
I’m coming from a Psychology background and chose HF because I really liked the combination of psychology, technology, research, design, and problem solving. I’m particularly interested in areas like medical human factors, defense, UX/HCI, and aviation.
I also live in the DC/Northern Virginia area, so I’m hoping the concentration of government, defense, and contracting work here is beneficial for HF careers.
For people currently working in Human Factors/HFE, I’d really like to hear your honest opinions:
• Do you think HF is a field with good long term prospects?
•Is the current job market just a temporary rough patch, or are there deeper problems with the field?
•Do you feel like your HF degree was worth it?
•What industries are actually hiring HF professionals?
•If you were starting your career again today, would you still choose Human Factors?
•And for those in the DC/NoVA area, how has the local market been for HF?
I’m not looking for reassurance just for the sake of reassurance. I’d genuinely appreciate honest opinions, even if there are things about the field that you think are concerning.
I think I’m mostly trying to figure out whether I’m experiencing normal “oh god I’m getting a master’s and need a career” anxiety or whether there are legitimate reasons to reconsider the field lol.
Thanks!
I have a bachelors degree in Biomedical Engineering BUT I have just finished my second year of working as a an ergonomist. Any advice of trying to switch career paths to be a HFE or should I instead try to go for a masters in human factors? I am just applying any entry and 2 years experience needed HFE job but not landing anything.
I have the chance to pursue neuroergonomics research during my PhD and am very interested in the field. What type of research did you do during grad school and what kinds of jobs did it lead to in research or industry? Ideally in the USA but am open to hearing from those in other countries as well!
hi everyone, I’m applying to a master’s program in human factors for next fall. I know that with my work experience not being in the field, and not having any research experience, my application is not competitive. I’m planning on looking for volunteer lab opportunities. besides that, is there anything I can do to make my application stronger?
Hello community! I've seen a lot of discussions lately about bad posture and how we can improve our daily habits. I tried to find an app to help manage my own posture, but I couldn't find anything good—they were all either paid, strictly for companies, or completely outdated.
Because of that, I decided to create my own completely free app. I'm currently working on an interactive ergonomics calculator for Android.
The concept is simple: you are presented with a dummy that you can manipulate into different poses. The app then gives you real-time results on how good or bad that pose is based on three popular ergonomics formulas: REBA, RULA, and NIOSH. Don't let the word "formulas" scare you—there is absolutely no math involved on your end, as the app handles all the calculations in the background. The app is very intuitive, though it does require a basic understanding of those three formulas to get the most out of it.
I've attached a few screenshots so you can see how it looks. I'm posting to see if anyone is interested in this app, and to find out if this is a good idea to continue developing? Let me know your thoughts!
I got into Eramus University Rotterdam's clinical psychology research skills track, I have a 8.92 CGPA in my bachelor's (I did it in India) and one publication. I did do an internship where I learned how to read brain scans and learned how to take case studies of patients.
I'm so worried that I won't be able to land an internship during my degree.
I am thinking of looking into internships in human factor research as well since most of my courses focus on cognitive neuropsychology and we'll be working closely with the students of a research master's in brain and cognitive psychology. I don't really mind any internship in this field to be honest cause I'm interested in it so any job will do, I also enjoy working with numbers and I'm working on my python skills for now I only know the basics.
My master's haven't started yet and I know that it is a competitive field.
Has anybody here landed a research internship? In a company or any university? What things did you include in your cv? I just want to know where I can improve since my year hasn't started yet. Thank you:)
Not a template; a full, completed example of how it would be submitted to the FDA. Does something like that exist somewhere?
Hi, I am F(29) with a bachelor degree in Psychology and I am currently pursuing my masters degree in Psychology. I am considering a career transition into Human Factors and Ergonomics and am planning to pursue a master's degree in the field.
Which Country should I go for and is this the right career move given that the job market is already saturated or is it too risky?
Seeking advice on degree paths: ISA degree, Business Admin with Mis minor, or Business Admin with Human Factors and MIS certificates? Which would you recommend for career path and why?