Color Blindness – Reason for a Job Rejection
- Posted by Daniel Flück on May 19th, 2007 filed in Professions
- 25 Comments »
One reader of Colblindor was so kind to write me his story about a job rejection because of his color blindness. It’s not a severe color vision deficiency he is suffering from and the job is mostly down with computer support, but he was still rejected.
Well, yes I was declined for one job for my red-green blindness. It was a job in the area of car paint development (research and development). I have worked in the past in areas that have something to do with color (formulation an equalizations) and it never represented for me a problem (I have to say that some times I noted that some colors were harder to make equal than others, but nothing more…). The doctor said that I wasn’t able to do my job.
By now I am trying to demonstrate that I’m perfectly able to that that job. Principally because the equalizations process doesn’t base upon the only eye of the human, the coloration process is carried on with the support of scientific instrumentation, like colorimeters and spectrometers, a lot of times more objectives and exacts than the weak human eye…
Note: Do you know what is the worse about been rejected for a job? They don’t even tell you why, they just say you…”a problem with the vision” :(
Were you ever rejected for a job because of your color blindness? It would be great to hear more about it.
Contribution by Israel F.F. Thanks a lot.
August 7th, 2007 at 1:35
I was applying for the Marine Corps Aviation Program. Did the 3 mile run in 21 minutes, straight 6’s on the ASTB which is ok and passing, got above the 1000 on the SAT, and was graduating with a double degree in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. The only thing keeping me out was my missing 2 color cards out of 7 on the second time around. If I got 6 I would have got in, or not. I personally did not know what measure they were using, or why they would bust out with cards testing for anything other than red-green deficits. I was just caught off card because, up until this incident about 2 years ago, I didn’t even know I was color blind I guess. I stop and go at appropriate times at traffic lights, even if they are against the Sun. But then again, I have been paying more attention since then.
August 7th, 2007 at 7:36
John, thanks a lot for contributing your personal story.
A very mild color blindness is often not recognized for a long time, because it doens’t give you any handicap in everyday life. Only performing special color attached tasks can sometimes reveal your weakness.
August 7th, 2007 at 23:47
John,
I’m sorry about your color test. The military has no tolerance for color blindness, as does most of the aviation world. I am a colorblind civilian pilot working my way up the latter towards a position in a major airline. For an aviation medical (req. for all pilots) to be unrestricted by color you must pass at least one color test from a bank of different tests that the FAA has approved. If you do not pass any of them, then you carry a restriction that airlines look down apon, and possibly exempting you from their insurance. Fortunately my opthamologist is a pilot and I ‘passed’ one of the tests.
As for the practicality of Color tests associated with aviation, well there is none. Except for the severly colorblind. The military’s main argument is color recognition of aircraft, and night flying conditions. The FAA’s argument is also about night flying conditions and a very outdated and obsolete argument about light gun use.
August 18th, 2007 at 7:27
I have the same story as John Dorso. I too applied to the Marine Corps OCC program for an Air Contract. I too got a 276 out of 300 PFT score (very good), had over a 1000 on the SAT, scored a 5-6-5 (passing) on the ASTB, and graduated with a double B.S. in Aeronautics and Meteorology. I have a Private Pilot’s license and am Instrument Rated flying civilian. Likewise I have passed all aviation flight medicals receieving a First Class Eval. I took my last medical in 2005 and was able to pass the color blind portion of the exam.
I was sent by the Marine Corps to Pensicola for my flight physical and while there passed all screening except for the PIP (14 plates) and the Farnsworth Falant.
I can distinguish aircraft Nav lights, port from starboard wings during flight. I can shoot an approach, day or night, using either the Tri-color VASI and all versions of the PAPI. I have never landed on a taxiway mistaking it for the runway demonstrating that I can distinguish white from blue color lights. And although having never been forced to use it I can see the color differences in the light gun signals. I can read a sectional and can tell the Magenta from the Blue colors correctly interpreting airspace. I can accurately use all Nav aids and distinguish all signals on the LCD screen of a glass cockpit Garmin 1000. However I can not tell the examiner what number is being displayed in the PIP plate (dots) test. I can see the individual colors on the plate but no clear identifible number jumps off the page at me.
I was accepted into the Corps and merely needed to pass that eye test to achieve a dream that I have been working for all of my 25 years to get. Because of this stupid test that is supposed to identify color deficiencies my dream is gone.
If I can now fly accurately and with no mistake interpret all aviation related colors imperative for flight then why was I NPQ’ed? This test ruined me! Although I can not pass the test, the test,in my opinion, is not a direct indicator that I could not fly accurately.
I strongly advise these medical examiners to understand that these garbage test do not accurately indicate if an individual is capable for flight. These test try to trick your eyes to detect a color deficiency and are successful, however I ask this: Does the real world try to trick your eyes to see something else or are aviation colors crisp, bold, and separated from each other?
The colors on the PIP test are so close in shade to each other that clear identification is impractical. The Farnsworth Falant lights are at 2.9 arc-lum, a level that is so dim and impractical it is like trying to identify the planet Jupiter’s red color with the naked eye standing on Earth’s surface. Again, when is the real world of aviation as difficult as this?
I can fly, but because of some test, in my opinion, that was designed for failure and impractical, my wings, life aspiration, and my career were taken from me.
To all of us Aviators out there ask your self this question: If the point of these exams is to determine if we pilots can accurately distinguish red from green from white as they are used in avaition then why are we tested on such an unrealistic and impractical level when all these physicians need to know is can we distinguish the red lights from the green ones from the white and blue ones AND at the same luminicity and size as they apply during flight?
I am bitter because I am not color deficient, these tests are the deficiency ruining the careers of many aspiring aviators.
Please write to me with any comments, concerns, or experiences you may have at Dallmann_m@yahoo.com.
Thankyou in advance for taking the time to review my post.
January 14th, 2008 at 8:15
Hi, I read your post and am so sorry about your dreams not being realized. My son is in the same position; he passed the light gun test and has an unrestricted license. Now he has been talking about the airforce but I’m pretty sure he will be disapointed. It is unfair that what is good for the FAA is not good enough for the military. I wish you luck in civilian flying though!
April 9th, 2008 at 4:00
Just got rejected from working as a combined rail operator because of my color blindness. My visual acuity was otherwise perfect (depth, near, far, binocular, etc.) The testing physician then gave me 9 bundles of yarn and asked me to identify the colors. No problem: red, green, blue, yellow, off-white, seafoam, purple, and some other subtle shades. Still couldn’t see the numbers on the plates, which represent color schemes which generally do not exist in the real world, and which would never be used in a transportation application. I don’t think they make railway or airline lights so “tricky” to make out. I’ve yet to see a traffic signal set up like a “magic eye” picture. Like somebody said above, it’s a test designed for failure.
June 26th, 2008 at 23:52
I have been skippering fishing vessels for 30 years without incident, in several countries, and have never had a problem with lights shapes or judging a vessels aspect at sea at night or in
poor visibility, yet i have been declined a medical as i cannot satisfactorily pass an isihara test.I now find that my working life and career is at an end .I have yet to see any representation of the shapes and circles/colours present in this test anywhere in real life except in this test.It seems exremely harsh that an individuals life and career/job prospects can be so destroyed by the results of this test.
January 28th, 2009 at 5:06
Does anyone know if color deficiency is a problem when pursuing a career in health care? Specifically dentists, physicians or nurses. I know military rejects color deficient applicants to their physician program even though they were happy to take me in as a field medic to dodge IEDs in Iraq. Well, now that I’m out of the service, I’m in college studying biology/chemistry hoping to get into dentistry. I called USC dental department and asked them about color deficiency and they said it’s not a problem but I haven’t contacted other dental schools so I’m not certain if that’s the case with every school.
Is there anyone in health care that knows anything about this?
May 9th, 2009 at 22:07
When I was 17 (64 now), I took a physical exam for a Naval ROTC scholorship. For those of you outside the US, ROTC is “Reserve Officer Training Corps.” You get a scholarship to attend a university, and in exchange you commit yourself to spending some time in military service as an officer after you graduate. I flunked the color vision test and was immediately excused from the physical exam. The color test consisted of red, green and white lights shown at the other end of a darkened room. I assume they were a simulation of distant navigation lights. I think I was able to distinguish the red and green lights (but they didn’t tell me, so I’ll never know), but between green and white I was just guessing.
July 17th, 2009 at 19:14
It is unfortunate that we have all these super qualified people with advanced degree and love of flying and serving their country and can not do it because of a genetic deficiency. I am red green deficient and feel the pain and anguish of all. I did however read a document some where that scientists have cured color blindness in mice and someday it will be possible to fix it in humans. I know it will too late for some of us to join the Marines, Join the police force, even fire fighters are required to be perfecr color vision. Wish you all luck.
July 26th, 2009 at 6:02
It’s ridiculous, honestly. I spent my entire life wanting to be a Navy pilot. I dedicated my childhood, my teenaged years and everything else to learning about fighters, their capabilities, how I applied what I learned in school, cutting myself into the mold of an officer- instead of going out, partying and drinking like all the other 18 year olds. I don’t have anything to show for it…I found out two days before my senior year(I graduated in June)
September 17th, 2009 at 9:16
[...] Some people get rejected from a job assignment because of their color vision [...]
October 11th, 2009 at 17:57
So I’ll start my story about 3 years ago when I began applying to become an Air Force Pilot through OTS. I was in my senior year at Virginia Tech working on my degree in Aerospace Engineering. After turning in my application to OTS I had to wait a while for the boards to make their decision, so I asked to have my flight physical done so that I would know if I was medically qualified before I even entered the Air Force. With the exception of distant visual acuity everything went well and I was given a waiver for my vision (20/200 uncorrected). I passed the PIP1 color vision test with 13/14 each eye. Unfortunately I ended up not being accepted to OTS and was quite disappointed.
Searching for what’s next, I found the possibility of a 2-year AFROTC program I could do while working on my Masters degree. I looked at school and was accepted to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Aerospace Engineering Master’s program and the AFROTC program their. During my first year their I was selected for a Pilot slot before even going to field training.
I went on to complete my work at Embry-Riddle and commission 3-MAY-09. I had to sit around all summer waiting to EAD but finally did on 3-SEP-09 and began to long drive to Laughlin AFB to wait for ASBC at the end of October, IFS, and someday UPT. I’ve been at Laughlin for just over a month now and received orders to go to Brooks AFB last Wednesday for MFS (Medical Flight Screening). At MFS they did a a few tests, but the only thing I was a bit worried about was my distant vision waiver. All of my tests went fine except for color vision. I scored 10/14 for the PIP1 for each eye failed a few other tests. They kept me for additional color vision tests and determined that I have hereditary red-green (deuteranomalous) green-weak, color deficiency. This is completely disqualifying for Pilot, Navigator, ABM (not sure about this one), Combat Control, Combat Rescue, Special Tactics Officer, OSI, Test Pilot School as an Engineer, and 99% of Astronaut positions.
This has been quite devastating since all of those jobs I listed have been my dreams and backup plans in case my dreams didn’t work out. Having them all stripped away in one day has motivated me to fight this to the end. I’ve been researching quite a bit to come up with anything I can do. I don’t really know who to contact but I’m planning to start with my commander. I plan to tell my whole story and explain why I believe I am fit for at least one of those jobs.
I’ve gone my entire life (24 years) without knowing I had any form of color deficiency and have accomplished a lot; I just don’t see how it can be so bad that I would be at a disadvantage now. I’ve read about potential advantages that red-green colorblind people have such as better night vision (which I found one paper going against this), being able to see “faster” (I haven’t found any scientific evidence), and most notably being able to see through and detect camouflaged objects more easily (still don’t have a solid source, just mentioned in other sources).
From what I can tell the only way I might be able to get around this is to get my commander or someone above him to write an “exception to policy” that would basically say that they are willing to take a risk on me since I might be able to make up for a deficiency with other aptitudes. Other than that, political figures may be able to use their pull somewhat to get me around this (but I know none personally).
If anyone has any information that may be useful to my cause please contact me at bmather9@gmail.com. Otherwise I’ll be busy looking for other careers (which don’t require perfect color vision) that will be as exciting, dangerous, noble, and challenging (both mentally and physically) as that of an Air Force Pilot.
October 12th, 2009 at 20:01
I have this same issue. I was scheduled to ship to basic training in June 2010 as an applicant to the Navy Nuclear program. Processing at MEPS went as well as I had hoped. 20/20 vision, passed physical with flying colors, and exceeded requirements for entry based off of ASVAB line scores. Then came the color blindness test, which I failed with 10/14 on the PIP test as and just as bad on the FALANT test. Until that day, I was completely unaware of my color deficiency.
I pose a question for any of you who have exhausted all efforts to pass this test. After some research I found an eye doctor guaranteeing 100% an invention of contact lenses that will allow a passing grade on the Ishihara plate test. colormax.org is the site for this facility. The only issue, is that the cost is very high (around $8,000) and not covered by vision insurance. To me, it seems like a small price for a better career, but the only info I can find is on the site itself. What do you think?
October 27th, 2009 at 14:22
I found out I was color blind when I was about 5-7, even then I thought about joining the military. I feel lucky though, for I learned of it at such a young age, but even now (15) I find myself thinking about a military career, then to remember of my disability.
December 10th, 2009 at 9:29
hi..i am from india…i got recruited by the indian government telecommunications firm BSNL. i had to appear for my medical nd turns out that i am colourblind….though the medical report has not yet been submitted but i have a feeling that i’ll b rejected for sure…feeling heartbroken nd terrible rt nw
December 18th, 2009 at 12:06
I am writing this from India where I am working as Power Plant Engineering professional. Recently I was selected for a Group Head job based on my performance in engineering function. But, when they did the medical test which included color blindness test(very brief), I was found to have partial green-red color blindness. As my profession does not include any situation where I will be working with colors, they rejected me from the job offer. This is the first time I have come across such a thing happending in India. I understand that some specific job functions require this color blindness test, but, I do not know how this will affect for a power plant mechancial engineering professional. Any body who has come through such situation, can kindly forward their experience?
December 21st, 2009 at 10:04
hi..I am also from India…I fell very frustrated after knowing that in other countries people are rejected of naval,aviation,military and driving jobs only because of colour blindness (CB) because in my country it is a reason for job rejection in a wide variety of jobs…I recently got rejected for an IT job(software engg.) because of CB in Tata Steel IT division..apart from this almost all jobs for technical fields like civil engg jobs, mechanical engg jobs,mining etc require you not to be colourblind……government undertakings like IOCL,NTPC,BHEL,SAIL and all other PSUs dont take colourblind peoples…so does private firms like L&T,Tata steel,Tata motors,maruti,TCS etc….the real problem is normal sighted people dont know how a colourblind person sees the world and therefore donot know whether he will be suitable for a particular job or not..so to be on safe side..lets not take them policy…In my country the plight of colourblind people(especially engineers) is miserable…
January 16th, 2010 at 16:48
I am in India, 55 years of age and red-green colour blind. I feel for all those who have had their job dreams shattered because of this inherited problem.
I found out, accidentally, about my colour blindness at my (engineering) university admissions medical test when I was 16 years old. I was admitted for engineering education but nobody told me about the implications of my colour blindness. My dream was to become a pilot, which I could not. On graduation, because of my colour blindness, I was not eligible for a government or most engineering job. I had to settle for an administrative job in the private sector.
My working life is almost over. I could not do what I wanted to do. Today, I pray for my younger friends, that soon there will be a cure for this hereditary problem.
Some years ago, I faced the following incident:
While in the US, I was able to get my driver’s licence and drove there without a single accident. But, when I applied for my driver’s licence in India – my colour blindness became important again.
The medical test by the licencing department doctor had only one test – Ishihara colour plates. I told the department doctor about my colour blindness. In the presence of many other people, he declared me unfit for a licence. I told him about my US driver’s licence and that doctor replied “the medical standards in India are more stringent than the US.” Amused at his statement, but disappointed, I walked out and met an agent. For a payment of about Rs. 1,000, he arranged to get me a medical certificate (from the same doctor), and my licence on the same day. I have never had a road accident. For my licence renewal, I naturally went through an agent.
I hope that, soon, people on this forum will not have to face this problem in their career choices. Good luck!
January 23rd, 2010 at 20:02
hi to all
I am also from India, the plight of engineers with colour blindness is horrible here. Most of employers dont know about colour blindness and its implications. They simply deny jobs to candidates with colour blindness. Indian disability act does not declare colour blindness as a disability. People with disabilities as per the act do get reservation for most of the jobs. I was also denied a job in a prestigious oil firm based on my colour vision deficiency (CVD) problem.
January 23rd, 2010 at 21:39
Hi Deepak : can you pls. update as to what what is the final outcome in BSNL case. Regds. Manjeet
January 23rd, 2010 at 23:06
Sounds the Indians on this forum should work together to form a sort of coalition to combat the industry standards for color vision. Although I know nothing about India’s government, you should have some solid arguments just by comparing your country’s standards to the US, which doesn’t generally restrict engineers or drivers licenses for color vision.
January 24th, 2010 at 15:06
In India, at graduation level, no education is denied for students with colour vision deficiency except in Navy, fire engineering, mining and machinery. In all engineering sectors, perfect colour vision is required. A person who completed his undergraduate course in any stream is eligible to go for management studies and in doing so, colour vision problems in career related issues do not arise at all. This could be one reason why education is not denied. If CB is defined as disability and government plans to give reservation, some people may cheat by producing fake certificates stating that they are colour blind. After all, CB is an individual perception of the colour vision rather than some externally visible disability like complete blindness and dumbness etc.
February 9th, 2010 at 3:02
The point is not to give reservations to CB candidates.Its a foolish idea. The only thing is that CB candidates should be allowed in jobs where this is not a handicap but unfortunately the situation is far too worse here in India. The irony is they will take one eyed candidates but not CB candidates even if it has nothing to do with good colour vision..
February 9th, 2010 at 4:18
There are definitely cases of color vision that I believe should not be disqualifying for ANY job. The fact that I have lived 24 years without knowing I have deuteranomaly is enough for me to say that it will never have any practical significance for me.