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Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists vs Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians

Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index

A factual, source-backed comparison of Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists and Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”

Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$101,140
$64,790
Employment · BLS OEWS
350,230
73,410
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
81st pct
60th pct

At a glance

Dimension Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians
Median pay $101,140 $64,790
Employment 350,230 73,410
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection Growing fast (+11.0%) About average (+1.7%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 25,200 6,300
Typical education · O*NET Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree). Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
AI exposure · published exposure studies High · 81st pct Moderate · 60th pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 68th pct · 37% of tasks 47th pct · 26% of tasks
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index Augmentation-leaning (57.2%) Augmentation-leaning (52.2%)
Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman Yes No

Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.

Skills

Shared: Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Writing, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Complex Problem Solving, English Language, Oral Comprehension, Written Comprehension, Oral Expression, Written Expression, Deductive Reasoning, Inductive Reasoning, Fluency of Ideas, Problem Sensitivity, Information Ordering, Design, Engineering and Technology, Category Flexibility, Judgment and Decision Making, Systems Evaluation, Originality, Mathematics, Mathematics, Monitoring, Mathematical Reasoning, Near Vision, Customer and Personal Service, Speech Recognition, Operations Analysis, Systems Analysis, Number Facility, Visualization.

Specific to Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists

  • Psychology
  • Active Learning
  • Education and Training
  • Speech Clarity
  • Social Perceptiveness
  • Science
  • Learning Strategies

Specific to Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians

  • Mechanical
  • Production and Processing
  • Computers and Electronics
  • Physics
  • Time Management
  • Selective Attention
  • Public Safety and Security

Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).

Tools & technology

Shared: Spreadsheet software , Office suite software , Presentation software , Document management software , Computer aided design CAD software , Object or component oriented development software , Enterprise application integration software , Analytical or scientific software , Operating system software , Electronic mail software , Process mapping and design software , Development environment software , Word processing software .

Specific to Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists

Specific to Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists or Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.

More comparisons

Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists vs Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/human-factors-engineers-and-ergonomists-vs-industrial-engineering-technologists-and-technicians

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists vs Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/human-factors-engineers-and-ergonomists-vs-industrial-engineering-technologists-and-technicians

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-human-factors-engineers-and-ergonomists-vs-industrial-engineering-technologists-and-technicians,
  title  = {Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists vs Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/compare/human-factors-engineers-and-ergonomists-vs-industrial-engineering-technologists-and-technicians}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.