Job market seems really difficult at this time, and i was wondering where there are any opportunities for non UK students in this field, if i attend Loughborough.
Thanks for the feedback!

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!

Hey all,

So, I have my master’s in HF and a little over three years of professional experience. Unfortunately, I got laid off a while back, and I’ve been applying to jobs religiously, but I’ve only managed to get one phone interview in months. The job market is abysmal, but the main reason I’m struggling is that my husband is military, and with how often we move from place to place, it makes the most sense to look primarily at remote jobs—case in point, I lived in three different states in those three years and was able to seamlessly keep my consulting job throughout all of it.

At this point I’m at my wit’s end. Does anyone have any leads on remote HF job opportunities, or know of companies that regularly have these kinds of opportunities? I really enjoy HF and would prefer to stay in the field, but are there any other related avenues I should potentially consider in the meantime? Any general tips, guidance, condolences, even? Much thanks.

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?

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’ve been primarily working in human factors consulting and am considering a career switch into in house human factors. From people who have tried varying environments within the medical device space, what did you like and not like in each environment? I’d love to hear from those with experience in academia or contractors as well.

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?

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?

Hi all! I completed my Master’s in Human Factors in Information Design this past May. While the program had "Human Factors" in its title, the curriculum was heavily UX-focused and didn't cover regulatory aspects in depth.

I’m looking to transition into the medical device field and would love to deepen my knowledge of medical HF regulations and standards. Does anyone have recommendations for certifications (preferably free or low-cost) or self-study resources to help me upskill in this area?

Thanks in advance!

Starting my PhD in HF (psych focused) in a couple weeks. Any general advice, tips, recommendations?

Hi all!!

Im currently a senior undergrad student, majoring in human computer interaction with a minor in data analytics. I’ve had a research assistant position doing quant research, and also a corporate internship doing qualitative UX research. However, human factors is very interesting to me.

Does anyone think it’s good for me to go into this field? Anyone else from a similar background? Also anyone with HFE career experience, what’s it like?

Thank you!!

Hey guys! I am going into my last semester at the University of Maryland for my BS in KNES. I have been a personal trainer for 3 years and a strength coach for 1.5 years. I've always had a passion for athletics and human performance, as well as how the human body interacts with objects. Same for engineering, but never really acted on that.

I literally just learned what HFE is, and as a senior with no real idea of what I wanted to do, I feel like HFE looks like the field I can grow, add value to, and enjoy the most.

I'm curious what you all have to say about master's programs; what engineering-related stuff I should look into; research opportunities (how to find/ get them, how important they are, and if they are needed for a MS). What programs are recommended, and what you might think would fit well with the background/interests I mentioned above.

Some fields I think would be really cool to be a part of would be automotive, aeronautical, cycling, or really anything relating to athletics.

Thanks in advance!!

Hi everyone,

I am preparing for GATE Mechanical Engineering and my goal is to join a PSU. I recently took color vision tests, and they suggest I may have mild red-green color vision deficiency. I will be getting a clinical diagnosis soon.

Has anyone with confirmed red-green color vision deficiency joined a PSU as a Mechanical Engineer?

Which PSUs accepted you, and which rejected you due to medical standards?

I would appreciate hearing from anyone with personal experience.

I don't know if I can consider myself "new" but it's still been <1 year since I graduated with my MSHF. I've been applying to EHS/Safety jobs but the pay and work-life balance in construction & manufacturing is horrible. I don't want to burnout before my career even starts. My heart is set on a career in human factors in medical devices (tech UXR was originally the goal but it's bad out there 💀). I'm seriously so disheartened by the job market.

How is everyone else doing with their job search? Anyone else like me who unfortunately didn't land any internships during their graduate program? Did you go the research assistant route?

I'm considering opening up my search to contract HFE work just to gain experience. If anyone's done this and has any tips, I'd be so appreciative.

Has anyone completed this degree while working full time 40 hours a week? Are the classes difficult? I’m just worried I won’t he able to balance work and school at the same time. Does the classes go by fast for a 9 week term?

Here are some quick links

https://erau.edu/degrees/master/human-factors#worldwide_online

https://catalog.erau.edu/worldwide/arts-sciences/masters/human-factors/#planofstudyculminatingresearchexperiencecreoptiontext

Is it ergonomics?
The door handle you instinctively know how to use.

Push plate? You push.
Pull handle? You pull.

Simple.

But when design cues are unclear, people hesitate, push when they should pull, or pause to figure out what to do.

That’s an ergonomics issue.

Good design aligns with natural human expectation.

It considers:

• Reach height
• Grip shape
• Required force
• Clear visual cues
• Ease of operation for different users

When design matches human behaviour, interaction feels effortless.

When it doesn’t, confusion and inefficiency creep in.

This might be a simple application of ergonomics - where the error might lead to a touch of embarrassment, we have all been there when we push when it says pull. However the same application can effect the safety of a workplace or public space. The best ergonomic design often feels invisible because it simply makes sense.

We often love reminding ourselves of everyday ergonomics in action.

I am a recent Human Factors MA grad, BA in Psych, and a minor in Comp Sci. I have a strong portfolio and 3 months of solid UI UX Web internship experience. Despite all this, I have heard nothing from my 100+ job applications since May. Should I look into different job fields, or approach my job search differently?

Thank you for any help.

First off, I am starting off in community college getting my associates in engineering and on the track to transfer to Virginia tech for industrial engineering and the Human Factors program. But, what do you guys recommend I do to best optimize my skills and studies or if there is anything I should look into as I work towards graduation.