The color of a product is often used by sellers to differentiate their products from competition. Using color as a distinguishing feature helps your buyers see the features of your product, and easily pick it out in the store. If you are colorblind, or you create a site that might have an impact on people with less-than-perfect vision, then knowing what jobs can colorblind people not do may be important to you.
There are a variety of jobs that colorblind people can’t do. This is because the ability to perceive color is essential for these professions, and many colorblind people have trouble perceiving different shades of red, green and blue.
Color Blindness affects an estimated 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women worldwide. While most people with this condition are not severely impaired by it, there are certain professions in which the inability to distinguish between colors could be dangerous or even fatal. These include:
-Working as a pilot or driver
-Working in construction or architecture
-Working as a chef or baker
-Working as an electrician or mechanic
What jobs can a colorblind person not do
Introduction
For colorblind people, the world is a different place. But can you still live a normal life? And what jobs are off-limits to you? In this post, we’ll consider that question in detail.
The answer depends on the type of colorblindness you have and its severity. While there are many jobs that are off-limits for those with certain types of colorblindness, there are also many careers that don’t require healthy color vision or allow reasonable accommodations for workers with impaired vision.
Jobs that involve color discrimination
Many jobs involve the ability to discriminate between colors, so if you have trouble discerning shades of red and green, or blue and orange, you will probably not be able to do them. Jobs that involve color discrimination include:
- Supervising a team of painters who paint houses
- Being an interior designer
- Working as a librarian at a museum where people bring in paintings for appraisal
Jobs that involve piloting aircraft
You may be surprised to learn that a person who is colorblind cannot become a pilot. It is not only the pilots of aircraft who are required to see colors correctly, but also flight attendants and air traffic controllers. In fact, all jobs that involve flying or working around planes require good color vision so you will have to think twice before applying for them unless your employer is aware of your condition and makes accommodations for it.
In addition, airfield firefighters and maintenance workers must also have normal color vision in order to do their job safely and efficiently.
Jobs that require visual examination of specimens
- There are jobs that require the visual examination of specimens, but a colorblind person can do these jobs. These include:
- Aeronautical engineer
- Automobile mechanic
- Astronomer
- The technician assembles components and equipment into a unit or system. The technician uses tools (such as pliers and wrenches) to tighten bolts, nuts, screws and other fasteners; measures parts to ensure they are within specifications; inspects parts for flaws in quality control procedures; installs electrical components such as switches and fuses; tests assemblies’ performance under varying conditions after assembly is complete.
Jobs involving color or color-coded instructions for explosives, hand grenades, ammunition, etc.
- Jobs involving color or color-coded instructions for explosives, hand grenades, ammunition, etc.
- Jobs involving explosives, hand grenades and/or ammunition
- Jobs involving explosives, hand grenades and ammunition in addition to firearms (i.e., artillery)
- Jobs involving explosives, hand grenades and ammunition in addition to firearms (i.e., artillery) and vehicles
Some jobs are off-limits to colorblind people, but many are not
You may be surprised to learn that there are jobs that colorblind people can do. Some jobs, like being an astronomer or a police officer, require the ability to see color. But many others don’t.
For example, one study found that nearly 90% of the American workforce is made up of jobs that don’t require you to read colors or use color information in your job duties. The list includes: cooks and chefs; construction workers; farmers and ranchers; painters; plumbers and pipefitters; welders and metal fabricators
Conclusion
At the end of the day, the list of what jobs colorblind people can and can’t do is long, but the most important thing for anyone to remember is that you should always follow your dreams. If you want to be an electrician or a pilot—or even just play a sport like tennis—you shouldn’t let a colorblindness diagnosis stop you. There are many resources available today that make it possible for colorblind people to pursue almost any career they choose—you just have to be open minded enough to see them.
