Design

How to become a human factors specialist

Official title: Human factors specialist

Also called: Ergonomist, Human factors adviser

Human factors specialists study human behaviour and performance in order to design facilities, equipment and environments that enhance people's wellbeing.

Main tasks

Design environments that improve people’s wellbeing
Study how people interact with systems
Design, develop and test ergonomic equipment
Inspect sites and facilities
Make systems, equipment and places user friendly
Develop research and testing methods
Collect and analyse data
Give health and safety advice

How to become one

You need more than one qualification and experience to become a human factors specialist. You need University Entrance to do the study or training for this job. Required: a relevant tertiary qualification; a Postgraduate Diploma in Health Science or similar; experience in similar work. Other requirements: a Master of Health Science or similar; membership of Human Factors and Ergonomics Society of New Zealand.

See the full Tahatū profile

Ways in

University: Allied Health degrees, Offered by 4 universities in New Zealand

Pay

Most common pay: $76,068 to $126,779 a year (median $101,423), a TEC estimate before tax.
Lower: $50,712 a year · Upper: $152,134 a year
TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.

Questions people ask

How do I become a human factors specialist?

How much does a human factors specialist earn in New Zealand?

The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $101,423 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $76,068 to $126,779 a year.

Sources

Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.

Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.

This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.

Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.

These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Updated 4 October 2026