Is color vision essential to sucessful electronics engineering?

[Don Hopkinson]

I'm fascinated by electronics. But I'm color blind. My version of color blindness is called dichromacy. I basically see 2 colors. Greens, browns, yellows and reds are all Red to me, and blues purples and pinks are all blue to me. I know there's lots more colors out there but they register as either red or blue.

It seems like some things are color coded and not given an alpha numeric description, like resistors for instance. Is there a work around to the color codes? Do Resistors all have the same color bands or do some have number codes on them?

[free_electron]

two things :
- ohm meter
- surface mounted parts

problem solved.

i'm color blind too. i don't see green.

[T3sl4co1l]

Color codes workaround: multimeter.

Or buy SMT chips, which you can't see anyway (maybe), or are completely unmarked.

Color codes in other things are, I'm sure, a standard difficulty.  Some programs allow you to reconfigure the colors.  Some don't.  Lots of cheap and poor software (such as you might use for laying out hobby PCBs?*) might not support such options, and you're left staring at a red-green blob that's not much help...

*Disclaimer: I haven't used any of the cheaper/free tools in anywhere near enough depth to know if this is the case.

Lesson to others who might be curious:

- Red-green ambiguity is the most common colorblindness, affecting something like 5-10% of men (I think?).  For being so common, it's still not well appreciated.
- Blue is safer, but the other kinds of colorblindness (which do affect blue and other combinations) still aren't terribly rare or anything.
- For sure, avoid red/green as a distinctive feature.  Lights, graphics, messages, displays, whatever.  Use intensity to make things stand out.  If possible, use different appearances, styles or textures to emphasize things further.
- Accessibility is also very practical.  The more readable something is, the better it will be from a distance as well, or under poor lighting conditions.  If you're ever doing something industrial, keep this in mind for safety!

(Ed: I think I wrote the first lines before F_E did, but I didn't finish the rest of these lines until, well.. )

Tim

[KD0CAC John]

I found using magnification brought out the colors , my guess is the magnification my very , but using lots of light & about 30 - 40 power works for me .
Also using different light sources , that have different spectrums and being able to between to see how the relationship between your eyes & the different light spectrums . 

[AndyC_772]

Resistor colour codes really aren't that useful anyway, they're often printed poorly on backgrounds that aren't entirely neutral anyway, so it can be quite hard to distinguish them correctly even if you have good colour vision. Just use a multimeter like anyone else!

(I honestly can't remember the last time I read a resistor value by its colours!)

Wiring colours may be more of an issue. If you're involved in specifying or using wiring harnesses, you may find the conductors difficult to distinguish. Again, though, it's a pretty minor part of the job, unless you get into a job that's heavy on installation or assembly. More often than not, I only need to tell the difference between red wires and black wires.

[CatalinaWOW]

Referencing the title question - I have quite a number of electronics engineer friends and acquaintances who are both successful and color blind, so the answer is yes.   In the lab, in the field, in sales and in management.  One work around not mentioned above that is useful for the management and sales oriented ones was used by one very successful engineer.  His wife labeled his clothes to identify what was appropriate to wear together.  Socks, pants, shirt, tie and coat, he always looked great when he needed to.

Social skills also help.  The reason that I knew that many of these individuals were color blind was that on the rare occasions when the DMM, lighting, color tweeks in software etc. didn't solve the problem they would just ask a friend or co-worker for help.  If it isn't too frequent, and if you haven't been a jerk almost everyone is willing to help.

[Fraser]

Many employers carry out a colour blindness test during the selection process. What happens when they discover colour blind applicants I do not know.

In the UK we have employee disability assistance in the form of reasonable adjustments. If colour blindness has serious health and safety implications it can preclude doing some specific roles.

Aurora

[timofonic]

Many employers carry out a colour blindness test during the selection process. What happens when they discover colour blind applicants I do not know.

In the UK we have employee disability assistance in the form of reasonable adjustments. If colour blindness has serious health and safety implications it can preclude doing some specific roles.

Aurora

That test should be illegal...

[free_electron]

Many employers carry out a colour blindness test during the selection process. What happens when they discover colour blind applicants I do not know.

In the UK we have employee disability assistance in the form of reasonable adjustments. If colour blindness has serious health and safety implications it can preclude doing some specific roles.

Aurora

That test should be illegal...

Not for aviators , for anything else , yes.

[Tandy]

Don't forget it isn't only resistors that have colour, identifying wires by colour could be an issue for some jobs, but needn't be a barrier for most.

[B.B.Bubby]

Many employers carry out a colour blindness test during the selection process. What happens when they discover colour blind applicants I do not know.

Aurora

I failed a colour blindness test during the interview round (1st year electrical apprentice) and was sent off the chief electrical inspectors office for further testing and conformation of the results.

As part of the further test I was left alone in a room with 60 coloured discs that I had to sort in order of colour intensity.
I soon realised these discs had their order position numbered on the bottom side - passed the test with flying colours and got the ok to work cert.
The Chief inspectors Medical officer had never seen anyone get 100% on the test before.

[Howardlong]

Many employers carry out a colour blindness test during the selection process. What happens when they discover colour blind applicants I do not know.

In the UK we have employee disability assistance in the form of reasonable adjustments. If colour blindness has serious health and safety implications it can preclude doing some specific roles.

Aurora

That test should be illegal...

Not for aviators , for anything else , yes.

Correct, I still have to do a colour blindness check every year as part of my aviation medical. Regrettably this year, as well as finally needing glasses for flying: although my colour blindness was fine, I have also been found to have excessive intraocular pressure and some minor degradation in optic nerve endings or whatever they're called. Not a big deal in itself, the treatment is usually eye drops, but for the first time in my life I've been referred to a being higher than my family doctor, an individual who gets to see me barely once every ten years or so as it is thankfully.

I still read wire ended resistors on pretty much a daily basis, but usually with the aid of an illuminated magnifier these days. I think that although my eyesight has recently degraded, it's also true to say that resistors, including wire ended ones, are significantly smaller than they were 40 or so years ago.

[retrolefty]

I do know that back in 1966 the U.S. Air force would disqualify one for any electronic tech school if one failed a required color blindness test. Don't know if they have stayed with that requirement.

[slateraptor]

I do know that back in 1966 the U.S. Air force would disqualify one for any electronic tech school if one failed a required color blindness test. Don't know if they have stayed with that requirement.

I can personally attest that this was still applicable back in 2002 (when I had enlisted) and was validated every year or so (along with hearing loss) during annual physicals for as long as I could remember in both active duty and air national guard. But that was a flightline avionics technician role, not electronics engineer.

If the electronics engineer is in a design role, I simple can't see (no pun intended) color-blindness as being a real impediment. A field support role may or may not be a different story, depending on industry. Not all electronics engineers in industry tinker with color-coded trinkets.

[rs20]

His wife labeled his clothes to identify what was appropriate to wear together.  Socks, pants, shirt, tie and coat, he always looked great when he needed to.

I think most engineers with perfect colour vision need this too, myself in particular...

[SeanB]

My dad was blue green colour blind, but in WWII that did not preclude him getting a pilot's licence. He eventually stopped flying in the 1980's due to the cost of keeping up the hours and maintaining the plane. Meant I learnt early along how to read colours in wiring, so he would have somebody to double check his work.

He only ever crashed 3 aircraft, and as he walked away from 2 they could be classed as not good landings. 1 in training, one from unforeseen circumstances ( hole in grass runway) and the third was from enemy fire. He was never sure about 3, he woke up 6 weeks afterwards in a Austrian hospital, with a whole catalogue of burns, broken bones and a pathologist who checked the body to write out the death certificate and got a heartbeat.

Me, luckily I am not colour blind....... Poor vision yes but still passable, though I need glasses and a magnifier now.

[Red Squirrel]

As a hobby you can probably find ways to manage, but as a job, it may be an issue as most jobs will require full colour vision, even IT type jobs as you may need to deal with network cables which are colour coded.   Kinda sucks that they can put those requirements though.

[Wytnucls]

Normally good color vision, but I see red when I page through the Keithley pricelist.

[kolbep]

My father is colorblind,
so he always used to ask my sister to read out the Resistor Color Codes..
But whatever he was working on still did not work.

It was only later on that they found out my sister is also colorblind 

But, I agree, Multimeter and SMD parts are the way to go.
But if you do buy packs of say 20ea of a through hole resistor, they normally have the value written on the packet, or on the tape holding the leads together...

[LukeW]

Well I guess you can't get a job as a bomb defusing tech 

Anyway, it might be worth investing in a good, reliable multimeter, particularly one that is decent in resistance mode.

And when making wiring looms and terminating cables, pay careful attention that wire #1 is connected to pin #1 at both ends of the connector etc, which wire is positive and which is ground. If you can't see the other end of the cable loom, you can't beep it out, and you have to identify things by color alone you might be in trouble.

Perhaps using striped wires, or those little rings with a number written on them that go over wires, are useful here.

[timofonic]

His wife labeled his clothes to identify what was appropriate to wear together.  Socks, pants, shirt, tie and coat, he always looked great when he needed to.

I think most engineers with perfect colour vision need this too, myself in particular...

Most of us geeks have some aspie traits. I just dress correctly by accident!

[gildasd]

Many employers carry out a colour blindness test during the selection process. What happens when they discover colour blind applicants I do not know.

In the UK we have employee disability assistance in the form of reasonable adjustments. If colour blindness has serious health and safety implications it can preclude doing some specific roles.

Aurora

That test should be illegal...

A requirement for merchant navy. Getting a IDGB colour code wrong in an emergency could have catastrophic results.
But the test is about distinguishing full base colours (red, green, yellow, blue) not mixed or light tones. If you confuse pink and light green, your choice of paint for your house might be painfully awfull but you are not a risk.
So, in real life, mild cases of colour blindness are not rare, one of my mates just graduated and he can't tell dark red from brown or dark green from dark blue.

[uoficowboy]

In highschool, we all had to individually meet with guidance counselors that were supposed to look at your skills and tell you what careers you were best suited for. They told me that I would be ideal for engineering, but that I should absolutely avoid electrical engineering.

I don't take well to being told that I can't do something

I've been an electrical engineer for nearly a decade. Yes, I struggle with colors occasionally. I cannot crimp a Ethernet cable at all - the tiny stripes are impossible for me to see. And resistor color codes just don't work for me. But I have plenty of coworkers who can see these things - and realistically, I almost never need to do anything that has to do with colors. I mean - 0402s and 0201s don't have color codes on them. And I seldom have to crimp any cables or anything like that.

I think one would struggle as a technician though.