What is an Engineering Psychologist?

Summary: An engineering psychologist works in the psychology field as a subset of the profession responsible for improving technology that enhances human behavior.

The field of engineering psychology started to take flight back in the decade of the 1940s. Those who work as engineering psychologists are responsible for designing safer products for users. These professionals are very concerned with interactivity, perception and user interface. When designing a new product, an engineering psychologist will take into account consumer feedback, human error, perception and profiling.

Main Responsibility

The main responsibility of an engineering psychologist is that he or she must make products safer for consumers by minimizing the risks of accidents and fatal errors. They do this by ensuring that systems, products and equipment are all safe for the public to use. These professionals will perform research using consumer surveys and studies to determine which products need upgrades and how they appeal to specific demographics.

Industries

Engineering psychologists can be found in the following industries:

• Technology
• Workplace safety
• Healthcare
• Human performance
• Aerospace
• Education
• Virtual reality
• Environmental safety
• Usability
• Software development
• Computer science
• Marketing
• Aviation
• Engineering

Salary and Job Info

You might be wondering what type of salary you can earn as an engineering psychologist. Here is a list of the highest-paying sectors for this profession:

• For-profit: $111,368
• Government: $107,314
• Academia: $92,614
• Business: $90,164

The highest reported salary for an engineering psychologist came in at $143,950 and the lowest came in at $55,330.

The industries offering the most job opportunities for this profession include robotics, defense, medical equipment and information technology.

The profession is expected to expand by 22 percent from 2010-2022, with the industry experiencing a 15.6 percent increase in jobs back in 2011.

Required Education

In order to work as an engineering psychologist, a candidate will need a minimum of a master’s degree in a related field. Some of the highest-paying jobs require the candidate to also hold a doctorate degree. There are schools across the country that offer graduate programs in engineering psychology with courses that focus on perception, cognition, statistics and research methods.