[Shadizar]

Does anyone here know if colorblindness is a desqualifier for electrical work? Or is anyone here a colorblind electrician? I am very willing and able to adapt....

I understand that you have to be able to distinguish wires of different color. I don't think I have a problem with that (maybe in darkness-light source would solve). I can see differences in green/red as long as there is not a collage of colors...or deficit of light...

I greatly desire to get into that industry (sustainable energy-which requires wiring).

If we don't collapse (my optomistic side) then we'll have a serious need for workers in that industry (imo). If we collapse then I'll have the knowledge to set up my own house to be sustainable (and the local community).

A housing collapse could seriously hurt my career prospects, but their still would be a need for electricians (if only among the rich) for work skilled in sustainable energy systems.

Anyway, any color blind electricians out there?

-Shadizar

[Tanada]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Shadizar', 'D')oes anyone here know if colorblindness is a desqualifier for electrical work? Or is anyone here a colorblind electrician? I am very willing and able to adapt....

I understand that you have to be able to distinguish wires of different color. I don't think I have a problem with that (maybe in darkness-light source would solve). I can see differences in green/red as long as there is not a collage of colors...or deficit of light...

I greatly desire to get into that industry (sustainable energy-which requires wiring).

If we don't collapse (my optomistic side) then we'll have a serious need for workers in that industry (imo). If we collapse then I'll have the knowledge to set up my own house to be sustainable (and the local community).

A housing collapse could seriously hurt my career prospects, but their still would be a need for electricians (if only among the rich) for work skilled in sustainable energy systems.

Anyway, any color blind electricians out there?

-Shadizar

[pilferage]

It really depends, I was in EE for a year during college and didn't have too much trouble. You just have to figure out what things look like to you, and so long as you can diffirentiate correctly between two different colors you're ok. It's not like they'll have purple/lavender and lavender/purple wires...
In kindergarden I realized red, green, and yellow were actually orange, yellow, and white.

[Micki]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')n kindergarden I realized red, green, and yellow were actually orange, yellow, and white.

[ChumpusRex2]

It depends. Certainly, it could be very difficult to train in electrical or electronic engineering if colour blind.

However, to be an electrician (electrical installer - the person that actually does the grunt work), colour blindness is generally considered an absolute no-no.

Maybe it's different in the US, but in the UK, most training schemes for electricians will simply refuse any applicant with the commonest form of colour blindness (red-green). It'll be one of the questions on the application form, or they may require a medical certificate showing proof of normal colour vision.

While there are some stories of people managing to blag their way into a job despite colour blindness - modern practice takes this seriously and workers/trainees will be expected to provide proof that they have normal colour vision.

[sysfce2]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Shadizar', 'D')oes anyone here know if colorblindness is a desqualifier for electrical work? Or is anyone here a colorblind electrician? I am very willing and able to adapt....

I understand that you have to be able to distinguish wires of different color. I don't think I have a problem with that (maybe in darkness-light source would solve). I can see differences in green/red as long as there is not a collage of colors...or deficit of light...

[Doly]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Shadizar', 'D')oes anyone here know if colorblindness is a desqualifier for electrical work? Or is anyone here a colorblind electrician? I am very willing and able to adapt....

[gg3]

There are different degrees and types of color blindness. In some instances, an individual can perceive differences between colors that are not visible to people with "normal" vision, and some of these individuals are highly valued by the military because they can spot camouflage immediately.

Electrical Engineers, EEs, don't usually have to work with the physical wiring, so color vision is not as critical.

Electricians however, do work with physical wiring, and there, it may very well be critical.

In the telephone industry, normal color vision was at one time a hard core requirement of the job. This is because we do in fact deal with odd and subtle color variations, for example a black wire with orange stripe vs. a black wire with brown stripe (this is your black-brown pair in the 25-pair PIC color code).

Nowadays, in telephony, one variation on standard practices uses pre-connectorized 25-pair cables, so phone techs don't have to manually punch down 50 subtly-different colored wires to a cross-connect block. However, they still do have to read the color code on those blocks to specify wire pair locations unless the blocks are labeled with pair numbers or otherwise (e.g. PBX port numbers).

Also, telephone & computer network cable techs have to deal with a 4-pair color code: white wires with stripes of blue, orange, green, brown, and "slate" (gray). It is possible that some people who are diagnosed color blind may be able to do this successfully depending on their individual vision characteristics.


I would suggest that if dealing with power (AC and DC for solar and wind power systems), as opposed to signal (telephone & data), it's just not worth the risk of potentially fatal errors. Different manufacturers use subtly different shades in the color of their wires, so even if you can distinguish among colors of one manufacturer's wire, a different manufacturer's wire may look sufficiently different as to be confusing, and therein lies the danger.

One possibility is to pick a different role in the industry.

For example, sales engineering is largely an engineering/technical job and is concerned with system design for specific clients. The job consists of examining a prospective client's needs and designing & estimating a system to meet them, and writing up a system proposal for the client. In this case there is not a need to read wire colors. It may be necessary to take site photos for evaluation by a technical crew chief (foreman) so they can provide cost estimating information to you for your proposal, but this does not involve color vision. It may be necessary to read schematics but most of these are in black and white.

There are other technical roles that are possible, that don't involve hands on the wires. The thing to do is go to a trade show and ask around among the various manufacturers. Tell them you're looking for a technical role in the industry and are colorblind, and ask them what job descriptions match your abilities. Gather up that info and get the appropriate education & training, and then start looking around for work. You might also find a job with a manufacturer instead of a contractor, which could even be less stressful (contractor gigs of any kind can be major stress).

Also look into utility-scale wind development companies, both the utilities themselves and also the independent power producers (IPPs). There are a number of possible roles there, on the engineering & technical side, that don't require color vision. Once again, read trade journals and attend trade shows to get a sense of what is possible.