How does colour blindness affect a career in Physics?

[scotty_le_b]

I didn't know where to put this so I thought this was mabye the best place. I was told I am "red-green" colour blind. Then I was told that I might find science difficult because I might not be able to read litmus paper, tell the difference between chemicals etc. Yet I can easily tell the difference between chemicals and all that stuff. How does colour blindness effect a career in Physics. I have never had any problems before so I don't see how it could affect me.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

Who told you that? Being colour blind is really no hindrance to studying any science! Sure there may be a time when you have to press a red button or pipette the green liquid but as long as you take precautions with such things being colour blind is no barrier.

 

[G01]

Color Blindness will not prevent you from thriving in science! Whoever told you that does not know what they are talking about.

The only way you will know whether you like doing science is to go and take some science classes! Don't let someone discourage you before you start!

 

[scotty_le_b]

Oh no I do like science I just wondered if there was anything I couldn't do.

 

[JaredJames]

Electrical stuff. Or more specifically, anything that is labelled with colours you cannot distinguish.

Outside of that, nothing you can't do.

Chemicals and things like that aren't distinguished with colour.

 

[scotty_le_b]

But the thing is I can easily tell the difference between colours and I managed school electricity stuff at school fine. Oh I'm so confused.

 

[256bits]

Well you won't be the next Matrix movie if you can't tell the red from the green pill.

Seriously though, you manage the difficulty, not let it manage you, and everything will fall in place.

 

[DragonPetter]

Whoever told you this was either an idiot or had some agenda.
Color is just as important in science as it is in everything else in your life. People use colors in every field of study/work.

And as someone who has studied electronics, even though things are sometimes color coded and it helps to quickly distinguish between things, it is by no means necessary.

 

[Bloodthunder]

Probably the only thing that will affect you is that computers like to print tons of graphs overlaying each other, all of different colors. (So just print more graphs! =) )

Physics & Math have no hindrance whatsoever for the color blind.

 

[Drakkith]

But the thing is I can easily tell the difference between colours and I managed school electricity stuff at school fine. Oh I'm so confused.

Who told you that you were colorblind? Did you take a test for it? Look at some colored dots and see some numbers or letters? ETC?

My dad is Red-Green colorblind, and pretty severely. I don't think he can tell the difference between the red and green streetlights. Luckily they have standardized their placement so he never has a problem driving. He was a cop for like 10 years, and his stories about trying to tell someone the color of a vehicle over the radio can be pretty funny lol.

 

[Andy Resnick]

I didn't know where to put this so I thought this was mabye the best place. I was told I am "red-green" colour blind. Then I was told that I might find science difficult because I might not be able to read litmus paper, tell the difference between chemicals etc. Yet I can easily tell the difference between chemicals and all that stuff. How does colour blindness effect a career in Physics. I have never had any problems before so I don't see how it could affect me.

I am red-green color blind (deuteranopia is the $5 word) as well, and I can assure you it has had no effect on my scientific career. I even do a lot of optics and imaging. At worst, other people notice my graphs are rather garishly colored, and my clothes usually don't match.

 

[AlephZero]

I think you had some bad advice.

There are plenty of jobs in science that you can do with moderate color blindness (as compared with total color blindness, which is a very rare condition).

There are a few jobs which do require "perfect" color vision (for example working with safety-crifical equipment in poor light conditions in the military or the nuclear industry). For those jobs the requirement should be clear in the job advertisement, and you will given a proper medical test by the company if you apply. But you shouldn't have any problems at school or university.

Red-green color blindness is quite common among males, and "standard" color coding systems (e.g. for traffic signals, warning lights, electrical components, etc) are designed so you CAN distinguish the colors even if you have the condition. For example "green" often contains a high proportion of "blue".

 

[nbo10]

I can't tell you the value of a resistor without an ohm meter and I confuse the color of curves during presentation but other than that color blindness hasn't affected me.

 

[Andy Resnick]

I can't tell you the value of a resistor without an ohm meter <snip>.

Oh yeah- I forgot about that one.

 

[LTME]

How about color blindness in engineering? I am about to start school to become a ME and I am colorblind. I have asked a few different college advisers and they all said they didn't THINK that it would be an issue, but I am still a little worried. Though my color blindness has never caused me any real problems in the jobs that I have held, it has made me lose out on a few jobs (military, railroad and almost corrections).

If there are any other color blind engineers/engineer students I would love to hear that everything is going to be ok. : )

 

[JaredJames]

As an AE, I see no reason we an ME would have an issue with colour blindness.

 

[AlephZero]

Though my color blindness has never caused me any real problems in the jobs that I have held, it has made me lose out on a few jobs (military, railroad and almost corrections).

If there are any other color blind engineers/engineer students I would love to hear that everything is going to be ok. : )

You shouldn't have any problems as an ME working in design, etc, unless you have severe problems using color computer graphics.

For practical work, your post implies you already know the sort of issues involved. For example in a "high tech" workplace, special purpose hand tools may be color coded to reduce the chance of using the wrong tool and damaging something, or parts that are similar but not interchangeable may be stored in color-coded containers. If that sort of thing applies, you willl be tested before you offered the job, of course.

 

[LTME]

Well the issue never seems to be actually doing the job. With a little innovation and common sense color issues can be worked around or never actually exist in the first place. However some companies simply write you off if you can not pass the color blind test at the physical.

Ironically the US army would not let me be a helicopter mechanic because I was color blind, but then 3 years later they re-classed me with a second MOS that is color blind restricted...because it was on their terms rather then what I wanted. Additionally, the job that I am currently holding (and about to leave) has a color blind restriction and the only reason I was able to get hired on 8 years ago was because the nurse took pity on me and signed off on the color blind test for me. So that little test almost kept me from a job that I have been VERY successful at.