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Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists vs Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers

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

A factual, source-backed comparison of Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists and Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers 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 Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$101,140
$102,610
Employment · BLS OEWS
350,230
199,800
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
81st pct
94th pct

At a glance

Dimension Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers
Median pay $101,140 $102,610
Employment 350,230 199,800
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection Growing fast (+11.0%) Growing fast (+10.0%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 25,200 14,000
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 of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
AI exposure · published exposure studies High · 81st pct High · 94th pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 68th pct · 37% of tasks —
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index Augmentation-leaning (57.2%) —
Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman Yes —

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, Active Learning, Category Flexibility, Judgment and Decision Making, Systems Evaluation, Originality, Speech Clarity, Mathematics, Mathematics, Monitoring, Near Vision, Speech Recognition, Learning Strategies, Operations Analysis, Systems Analysis.

Specific to Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists

  • Psychology
  • Education and Training
  • Mathematical Reasoning
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Social Perceptiveness
  • Science
  • Number Facility
  • Visualization

Specific to Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers

  • Computers and Electronics
  • Programming
  • Quality Control Analysis
  • Flexibility of Closure
  • Perceptual Speed
  • Coordination
  • Operations Monitoring
  • Time Management

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 , Document management software , Graphics or photo imaging software , Desktop publishing software , Web platform development software , Internet browser software , Object or component oriented development software , Enterprise application integration software , Operating system software , Development environment software , Program testing software .

Specific to Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists

Specific to Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists or Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers — 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 Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers." 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-software-quality-assurance-analysts-and-testers

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists vs Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/human-factors-engineers-and-ergonomists-vs-software-quality-assurance-analysts-and-testers

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-human-factors-engineers-and-ergonomists-vs-software-quality-assurance-analysts-and-testers,
  title  = {Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists vs Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers},
  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-software-quality-assurance-analysts-and-testers}
}

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