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Manufacturing Engineers vs Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists

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

A factual, source-backed comparison of Manufacturing Engineers and Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists 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.”

Manufacturing Engineers Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$101,140
$101,140
Employment · BLS OEWS
350,230
350,230
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
81st pct
81st pct

At a glance

Dimension Manufacturing Engineers Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists
Median pay $101,140 $101,140
Employment 350,230 350,230
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection Growing fast (+11.0%) Growing fast (+11.0%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 25,200 25,200
Typical education · O*NET Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not. 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).
AI exposure · published exposure studies High · 81st pct High · 81st pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 68th pct · 37% of tasks 68th pct · 37% of tasks
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index — Augmentation-leaning (57.2%)
Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman Yes 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: Engineering and Technology, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics, Complex Problem Solving, Design, Oral Comprehension, Problem Sensitivity, Deductive Reasoning, Inductive Reasoning, Category Flexibility, Visualization, Near Vision, Mathematics, Active Listening, Speaking, Monitoring, Judgment and Decision Making, Written Comprehension, Oral Expression, Information Ordering, English Language, Writing, Critical Thinking, Systems Analysis, Systems Evaluation, Mathematical Reasoning, Number Facility, Active Learning, Written Expression, Fluency of Ideas, Originality, Speech Recognition.

Specific to Manufacturing Engineers

  • Production and Processing
  • Mechanical
  • Operations Monitoring
  • Computers and Electronics
  • Technology Design
  • Flexibility of Closure
  • Troubleshooting
  • Time Management

Specific to Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists

  • Psychology
  • Education and Training
  • Speech Clarity
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Social Perceptiveness
  • Science
  • Learning Strategies
  • Operations Analysis

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: Computer aided design CAD software , Spreadsheet software , Office suite software , Presentation software , Development environment software , Electronic mail software , Document management software , Process mapping and design software , Word processing software , Object or component oriented development software , Analytical or scientific software , Internet browser software .

Specific to Manufacturing Engineers

Specific to Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Manufacturing Engineers or Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists — 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. "Manufacturing Engineers vs Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists." 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/manufacturing-engineers-vs-human-factors-engineers-and-ergonomists

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Manufacturing Engineers vs Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/manufacturing-engineers-vs-human-factors-engineers-and-ergonomists

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-manufacturing-engineers-vs-human-factors-engineers-and-ergonomists,
  title  = {Manufacturing Engineers vs Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists},
  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/manufacturing-engineers-vs-human-factors-engineers-and-ergonomists}
}

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