Practicing Relevant Skills in the Classroom

Abstract

A particular challenge to professors of human factors/ergonomics courses in academia is to make their syllabi and course contents relevant to the demands placed on graduates from human factors programs as they enter the labor market. Recent surveys suggest that academic curricula indeed fall short of expectations in several critical areas. To respond to these challenges and the demonstrated deficiencies, a panel of human factors professionals from various areas in the industry suggested ways to incorporate relevant skills exercises in academic curricula. This panel is part of an ongoing dialog between employers of human factors/ergonomics professionals in the industry and the professors of human factors students in academia.

How to Maximize Success in Industry as a UX Researcher

“…They will bring examples from their time as UX researchers or UX Research Managers to highlight areas where academia may not well-equip students for a career in industry. Prior HFES panels (Rantanen et al, 2013) have discussed preparing students for industry or have elaborated on specific skills needed to get a job in industry (Shapiro et al, 2003). This panel will continue the discussion, go more in-depth on the transition and how best to prepare, highlighting specific soft/hard skills and the direct value of possessing them early on in one's career as a UX professional.…”

So, You Want to be a Manager? How to Know When and if to Make the Move

“…Prior HFES panels (Rantanen et al, 2013(Rantanen et al, , 2016 have focused on preparing students for industry, fine tuning specific skills needed to get that first job in industry (Shapiro et al, 2003), or shared tips on how to be successful in industry (Madathil et al 2019). In this panel, we will bring the discussion past the point of preparing for and succeeding in industry as an individual contributor and focus our discussion on later career decisions and the challenges that occur as you decide how to grow in your career.…”

Interdisciplinary Human Factors Curricula for Individualized, Independent Study

“…This problem is a "moving target" as both the academic environments where future HF/E/UX professionals are trained in and the domains where they practice their professions are constantly changing. In the past there have been periodic attempts to track these changes, through surveys of HFES members (Cooke & Gorman, 2004;Stone & Derby, 2009), analyses of job advertisements (e.g., Moroney and Adams 1996;Moroney, Anderson, and Soest 1997), surveys of new professionals and their employers Rantanen, 2016;Rantanen & Moroney, 2011, and panel discussions at HFES Annual Meetings (Hannon et al, 2019;Rantanen, Boehm-Davis, Boyle, Hannon, & Lee, 2016;Rantanen et al, 2013;Rantanen, Rickel, Rantanen, & Lau, 2018). Analyses of academic programs in terms of them meeting the needs in the workplace have not, to the best of our knowledge, been done beyond the aforementioned surveys of students and new professionals (Rantanen & Moroney, 2011).…”