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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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)
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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.
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?
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.
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
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?
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…
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!
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.
Hi Deepak : can you pls. update as to what what is the final outcome in BSNL case. Regds. Manjeet
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.
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.
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..
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.
I have been diagnosed with mild deuteranomaly and have been disqualified from USAF pilot training. I am currently working to get an exception to policy that would allow me to still go to pilot training, and I know how difficult this will be. But I need help with research for my exception to policy package. Today I came up with a simple but interesting idea and tried researching but was unable to find the information I need.
The idea is that since I have mild deuteranomaly, my M (green) cones are shifted a few nanometers towards the L (red) cones. I also know that many other factors can affect the color perception of people with normal color vision, such as the position of the sun in the sky, weather, hazy, cloudy, etc… So what I’m looking for is a measure of how much the position of the sun would affect the color of an object. I’d bet the bank on the sun shifting light wavelength more than my condition.
I’ve looked into color temperature a bit and found at dusk or dawn sunlight has a color temp of approx. 3200 K and at noon its around 6500 K. My problem is I’ve been unable to relate this change of 3200 K to 6500 K to a change in wavelength (nanometers).
Any information on how much the sun would affect color perception, or how many nanometers a person with mild deuteranomaly would be shifted would be greatly appreciated.
I can be contacted at: bmather9@gmail.com
In India, truly speaking, colour blindness candidates are rejected if the employer feel that the colour blindness may hinder or pose challenges for the employee to perform his duty successfully. For example, in IT division, web design is most important thing. A colour blind person may not able to design a webpage with different colours. A colour blind police officer may not be able to identify the thief’s dress colour. Over all, colour perception is most important for all engineering graduates.
To the previous Anonymous post, of course there are numerous types and degrees of color “blindness” but the truth is that the majority of them would have no problem designing a web site with colors, identifying a theif’s dress color and most of all would have no problems as an engineer!
As an engineer in the US, I have never come across an engineering job that tested anyone for color vision. It is ridiculous to assume that all color deficient or color blind candidates could not peform engineering jobs. There may be a few specific cases where color vision would be necessary or a very extreme case of the deficiency where it would be a hindrance to job performance, but the vast majority would have no issues whatsoever.
Check out this site and sign up! (www.cvdpilots.com
Military Color Vision Regs will change, its just a matter of time: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3912/is_201002/ai_n52372967/
It’s hard to tell who will pass and who will not. There’s an online demo of the test mentioned: http://www.city.ac.uk/avrc/colourtest.html
Let’s get to the root of the problem. It exists because schools fail to identify color blind students early enough. As a result, kids begin their dreams of being a doctor, an airline pilot, a chemist, a biologist, etc. in junior high school or earlier without being told that they are fighting an uphill battle to realize their dreams from the start. And why don’t the teachers spot these students? Because it never occurs to them that there are color blind people. Think of it. These teachers can not be color blind or they would not be able to teach their subjects, i.e. chemistry, biology, anatomy, art, etc. So, it’s a case of “out of sight, out of mind”. And if a student is not aware that that he/she is color blind then the student just struggles to keep up with the other students, unaware that he/she is working harder just to keep up. I think the word has to go out to the schools to identify the color blind students in order to guide them toward careers where their color blindness will not be an issue or hindrance, and dreams will not be shattered. I, too, failed the color blindness test for an ROTC scholarship in the mid-60’s and still went on to try to major in bio-medical engineering…and completed a degree in history(and even there you run up against color-coded maps). Color blindness is a pretty wimpy handicap, when compared to other handicaps people have, but it is, nonetheless, a handicap and should be recognized as one by schools and teachers.
I disagree that colorblindness is a handicap. I’m sure we can agree that there are a wide range of severities of color deficiencies and that some of them, probably most of them (including yours from what it seems) would be a handicap.
I never knew I was deuteranomalous until last year; I’m 25. Even after being diagnosed, I have yet to find anything, other than color vision tests (of which I pass the Ishihara PIP) that is abnormal. The potential for a person with deuteranomaly to have better color discrimination than some with normal color vision exists, and I very likely fall into that category.
So am I handicapped? I certainly don’t think so, and I don’t think anyone could design a truly comprehensive test to prove I am because I would likely score higher than some with normal color vision. Would I get rejected from a job for it? Yes, depending on the testing methods used.
I do think testing in schools is an excellent idea and would have saved me a lot of trouble, but I also think color vision testing and regulations need to catch up with the science so that those who are not handicapped aren’t told that they are.
I am the another unfortunate engineering about-to graduate having color blindness from India. Recently, I have been selected in HAL(Hindustan Aeronautics Limited)with very good marks. I just hope that they don’t reject me in medical examination. Though, chances are more of rejection.
There cannot be anything more unfortunate than this. You struggle so hard to get admission into a premier engineering college and then one day just because you cannot read a few fucking colorful numbers you are denied every opportunity. This is ridiculous
Kadyan,
If you are denied an engineering job because of your color vision you should fight it. I have BS and MS in Aerospace and I’ve never heard of anyone here in the US being denied a job in engineering because of color vision. Use this as your primary argument against the regulations. I know nothing about India’s government or legal system but you can’t just allow someone to tell you that you’re not capable when you know that you are, and you have proven it with your performance in college.
I feel so sorry for people(such as myself) who have CVD. I’ve graduated from a university and have been trying so hard to get a government job for almost 2 years. I finally got an interview for this dream job but I know that I’ll fell the Ishihara test that they will give me when I take a physical. I just feel like I’ve been so cheated because I’ve worked for this for so long and I’m afraid I’ll be rejected just because of that test. The worst part of it is that I don’t even realize it in day-to-day life. I see red and green everyday and never get confused about the colors. Just feel cheated….
I got selected in Indian Oil Corporation on June 23, 2009. I am a BE EEE graduate.
I couldn’t read around 8 slides in the Ishihara PIP 24 slide test. But managed to pass the indivudual colour identification test and the Pink perception test. The doctor told me there was nothing to worry about. So I went home happy.
Later got a phone call from the IOCL on December 22, 2009 regarding my being unfit for the post as an engineer.
But with the X chrome contact lenses am able to read all the numbers perfectly. it costs around Rs 1800.
The authorities must look into the fact of allowing CVD candidates to wear the lenses and make an amendment in the recruiting rules.
My dreams of becoming an engineer got shattered. I got myself a management job.
I can understand the pain what Karthik felt when he had been rejected a job in Indian Oil Company. Mine is also same case. Color blindness is a big handicap in case of oil companies because engineers working there should learn basics of fire engineering and lots of colour codes are associated with it. Candidates with CVD are unfit for the job and it is obvious. What I can say is there is no need to worry about colour blindness because it is not our fault.
“Color blindness is a big handicap in case of oil companies because engineers working there should learn basics of fire engineering and lots of colour codes are associated with it. ”
If color deficiency is such a big handicap, then why do many color deficient people try to get this job?
It seems to me that most were unaware of a “handicap” before being tested for color vision; if you are unaware of it, is it really still a handicap?
I am color deficient but have never had any issues with color codes in my life, including 6 years of engineering school and 2 years of engineering work in industry; there are most definitley other individuals like me and we should not be discriminated.
I see a lot of people crying like they got a horrible deal being born. I don’t see every person in a wheel chair whining because they’ll never be able to play baseball.
Yes, I am color deficient. I can’t even see numbers where some people may on the Ishihara PIP. I considered being an Intelligence Specialist or Master-At-Arms in the Navy and now neither of those can happen. I’ve done electrical work for most of my life with no problem too. It sucks, but you just find something else.
Make the best of your situation and stop feeling sorry for yourselves. There are plenty of people that have it much, much worse.
I think folks particularly not from India in this forum are unaware of the gravity of situation regarding the implications of colour blindness during the recruitment process for engineers in various private and semi-government and public sector units in India. I do agree colour blindness is not a problem in most of the jobs but recruiting a normal vision person is a better choice in any case. In western countries population is less and subsequently the number of highly qualified person for a particular position is very limited. It is not the same case in India. In India, you find engineer graduate in every street corner.
Colour blind people in India are unaware of their problem in this childhood. They only come to know about it during the recruitment only. Instead of calling it a handicap, it should be called as a limitation because the percentage of people is relatively less ( only 12% male population in Europe while it is 4% roughly in India).
I love my colour blindness problem.
I recently have cleared Tech mahindra Ltd Inida selection procedure..but in medically i found Partial colorblind …will i be rejected ??
I have selected for “software trainee” post at Mahindra Satyam….I am partial colour blind..will it create a problem for me????
Dear Mr Daniel; since you have access to our email IDs ; please forward me email IDs of all Color blind persons who have posted their comment …
At the age of 51; I found your post accidentally & saw many ndians weeping about rejections. How ever I find that no one is interested in solving this problem for others in India. This I tried doing it way back in 1985-86. If I can organize these people I would like to seek legal remedy now so that color blind get their legitimate dues & don’t have to bribe people to get driving license or face ejection unnecessarily at the hands of ill-informed medical officers.
I am also from India & I am near total color blind.. Red/green Blue/Green .. I can only see bright red….
I was selected for NTPC India by interview board comprising of Chairman NTPC / BHEL & EIL. I was rejected by ordinary MBBS medical officer. When I protested & demanded that my case be referred to higher medical board; I was referred to RP Center for Opthalmology New-delhi. Post graduate intern/ registrar working their was color blind too, He refused to come out & help openly fearing cancellation of his admission.
Other Docs who checked me wrote color blind for orange. Then the Dean or the senior most doctor made me wait as a guinea pig to demonstrate my handicap to all the doctors (with my consent) & explained to every one & me too as to what I am capable of seeing & where I am going wrong.( They used Ishihara Plates)
I was mis-informed by one MBBS doctor about this genetic disease being present in Girls as well (So even doctors don’t know)& So when I went to clarify my doubts & went for genetic counselling… A post graduate Eye surgeon used fancy lights / charged me hefty fees & told me that I am color blind to green & blue.. He could not reply to my queries on genetics related to color blindness.
Due to our marriage within community system in India chances are more than 8-10% population will be color blind & they are happily going thru normal routines of life; unless they face rejection at the hands of ill-informed Doctors.
I had taken up my case with National association for blind & volunteered to pay for the legal expense to fight the case for rationalization / removal of this handicap as reason for rejection.They wrote to the Central minister for Power & got routine reply. since those people wanted to avoid confrontation with govt in the larger interest they did not pursue legal remedy.
I am confident that if people who posted their comments on your article join me I can open up the case & get this rationalized/ resolved for public good.
My advise to young unmarried color blinds; please don’t father a girl child. This way you will eliminate 50% chances of your male child being born color blind & 100% chance of your female child being a carrier ( future mother 50% cahnce of color blind)..
There is more to color blindness … it is like a marker on chromosomes… It indicates possibilities of many other genetic disorders/ disease… However the subject is not well researched
This way you will eliminate 50% chances of your male Grand-child being born color blind & 100% chance of your female child being a carrier
Post 27-Anonymus Says:
February 22nd, 2010 at 17:15
Who so ever wrote this post; I bet is not color blind… He is one of those ill informed person… with no clue as to what CB is all about…
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In 1976 on driving license application form they wrote .. are you colour blind… Saying yes would have attacted dis-qualification.
In 1990 I found that the rules are changed & they ask … Can you differentiate between red & green & give the license. so even a near total CB like me can get a license & drive without any major accident for past 25 years…
So rejection in India is because of ill informed doctors following the medical standard rule books as policy document & not having the system of “EXCEPTION TO POLICY”. More over I doubt if commercilly oriented Indian doctors will ever have time to write exception to policy document.
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Ignornat people give following types of argument against CB.
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In India, truly speaking, colour blindness candidates are rejected if the employer feel that the colour blindness may hinder or pose challenges for the employee to perform his duty successfully. For example, in IT division, web design is most important thing. A colour blind person may not able to design a webpage with different colours. A colour blind police officer may not be able to identify the thief’s dress colour. Over all, colour perception is most important for all engineering graduates.
( only 12% male population in Europe while it is 4% roughly in India).
This is unsubstantiated figure. If it is 12% for europe… it will be 21 % for India… Ask any genetics expert.
what with cousins marrying one another / Uncle niece marrying in down south & what not….
If one completes his under-graduate studies & becomes an engineer with CB then how can it be called as Handicap or limitation. If CB deserves rejection then he deserves reservation & not the discriminating treatment at the hands of ordinary MBBS – ill informed doctors
The company should be able to accommodate to your disability! In the future it may good for you to provide a doctors note stating what you can and can’t do as someone not familiar with the condition may not know the levels of color blindness. Nice Post Thanks!
To Avinash Chaurasia Sir,
I think the advise from you to color blind people not to father female child is clearly coming out of frustration. I am the person whom you quoted as ignorant one by citing my opinion about CB. You did not give any details about for which post you were selected in the interview by NTPC. I believe that it was not clerical job but technical. Given a situation in which you are supposed to take training to work near a boiler of NTPC, you should be free from any form of colour blindness because you need to identify the process stream lines into and out of the boiler coded in color. I am also enjoying my red-green colour deficiency and was rejected by one big oil company in India from taking a technical position. Even in Europe and US also, color blind people are rejected from taking job as a policeman, fireman service, forensic expert and geologist because it is VERY VERY important to identify the color exactly in all these professions. A gemologist must identify the colors of the gems. How a color blind person can identify the colours of the rocks and could become a successful geologist or a miner. Believe me, my friend asked me to bring red pen from me a super market, I brought green pen instead. Its a small mistake. But if the same happens during a critical operation with a corrosive reactor, how worse it could be? How a color blind person can report the weather patterns by looking at a colorful weather satellite picture. I agree with Avinash sir that color blind persons should be given some sort of reservation or consideration and should be accommodated in the workforce.
You highlighted that same caste marriages worsened the CB situation and its likelyhood in India. Please note that caste system came into existence only 5000-10000 years ago. But we, human beings (homosapien) started living on this planet much earlier. Needless to say, in Europe, there is no caste system. But how colour blindness is still prevailing in Europe? I agree with you that colour blindness may be eliminated by mutation of the genes.
A Ophthalmologist must be free from colour blindness. In India, Jaipur high court gave an historical judgement regarding colour blindness. In this case, an admission of a colour blind person in a medical college was cancelled due to his color vision problem citing it as a disqualification. Court gave a judgment that it should not be the case because color blindness may not hinder his progress in the studies. In another case supreme court of India gave judgement that technical staff in research laboratories in India must be free from color blindness.
In India, in case of West bengal (WB) engineering study admissions, WB technical education board prints on the admission proforma that colour blindness may cause injuries during lab course work and hence students seeking admission in chemical engineering, printing technology must be free from CB.
My advise to all colour blind people, please do not get disheartened by rejections. If one door closes, another opens automatically. Love your colour blindness and see the world through it. Just love your eyes.
what is criteria of color blindness in central govt. job
it is not clearly defined in any book / web site. But what I saw in various GOVT job advertisement in INDIA that COLORBLINDNESS is not accepted.But also there is a hope that in some cases this problem can be solved by agent but it is illegal .I am also Colorblind & got rejected from one of the prestigious automobile company(TATA MOTORS LTD).Though I am CB but I have managed to get Driving License through agent.
To Rajib Roy
There is no criteria. If colour blindness problem interferes with your efficiency in doing the job, it is certain that candidate will be rejected.
You gotta’ admit though that when a job requires you to do something, and you aren’t able to do it because of a disability, then it’s all fair game. Right?
Samuel, what about people like me, who are able to perform every function just like people with normal color vision, to the point that I went 25 years without even knowing of this condition. I even pass the PIP plates, but still am disqualified from jobs, such as pilot, due to a “disability”?
Hi…I was reading through the posts and I read one about Karthik who unfortunately got disqualified from Indian Oil company due to color identification issues.Well,the thing is,I have also been selected in IOCL subject to a medical.I am extremely worried about the pink perception test.Does anybody have any idea about it?Please help if possible.
i am a graduate in mechanical engg from a reputed central govt university.was unaware of this cvd till 24 years of my life.
now my career options have narrowed down drastically.
There is anger in my heart for the govt and authorites.Same govt gave me admission to this course on my merit in 2009 but never advised or made provision of conducting this test before my course.Now wherever the vacancies in ntpc,bhel,hpcl.drdo,gail,eil are out these ppl write colour blinds not permitted.
i want to register a case on govt on almost ruining my life.
mr avinash m ready to do anythng for any initiative in this direction…either give us relaxation and quota in other jobs or remove this restriction on individuals after PRACTICAL tests.not like ishihara tests which is meant for perfection.
am a graduate in mechanical engg from a reputed central govt university.was unaware of this cvd till 24 years of my life.
now my career options have narrowed down drastically.
There is anger in my heart for the govt and authorites.Same govt gave me admission to this course on my merit in 2005 but never advised or made provision of conducting this test before my course.Now wherever the vacancies in ntpc,bhel,hpcl.drdo,gail,eil are out these ppl write colour blinds not permitted.
i want to register a case on govt on almost ruining my life.
mr avinash m ready to do anythng for any initiative in this direction…either give us relaxation and quota in other jobs or remove this restriction on individuals after PRACTICAL tests.not like ishihara tests which is meant for perfection.
i am working in pvt mnc but somewhere i knw this curse will haunt me forever and somewhere midway my career i would b shattered.
Dear Karan
please calm down… you have several options to take after your bachelors degree. For example, you can opt for management. And you may go abroad for pursuing higher studies. You can also become a faculty anywhere in the world. Try to look and focus on other things rather than frustrating about CVD problem. We can understand how much it panis when we diagnose with CVD and having a engineering degree at other hand. But just chill down and be happy. Life has given me an opportunity to prove ourselves in spite of all these drawbacks and disabilities.
hi Tejas , i have the same doubt…
can anyone explain abt PINK PERCEPTION TEST. searched for it online but cudnt get any info on it.
Nice sharing about your experienced and sorry about to hear the rejection that happened. Well, don’t lose a chance.
Failure is not option. Save your time in finding other job opportunities. Well, your reason will leads you to higher determination.
hi i am from india
i just want to tell u that i want to do so much in my life
i want to know that can i get any of engineering government job.
Hi..this is vivek who wrote 18th comment last year after getting rejected for a software job..I am now in a software job and that too related to web designing.. there is one thing i want to tell everyone…little knowledge is a dangerously thing….and so is ignorance….are the software/web , oil, power companies around the world outside india taking hell lot of risk by allowing CB candidates in technical jobs????
This is to those who are saying that if you are not fit for a job they wont take you….I was once rejected admission in state run engineering college because of CB…next year i got through IIT-JEE…
In India if you are CB, forget about any govt, semi-govt job which has anything to do with the word “Technical”.
Mr. Avinash I am with you..my email id is thevivekagrawal@gmail.com anyone can write to me for any query…I would never want in my life to give “Reservation” to any CB candidate because that is highly unfair..you know why..bcoz you’ll never figure out I am CB unless I tell you or of course if you test me on ishihira plates…
Hi,everyone I am also from India.I am pursuing my B.tech. in mechanical discipline(8th semester).I was selected for NTPC ltd. Where at the time of medical examination they told me that I am red-green deficient and I won’t be allowed to join the company.I was shocked to hear the same.
I totally agree with post no. 43 of Mr.Anurag chaurasiya and sir, I would like to help you in the global cause in whatever way I can. These people are still following the same old test pattern which I feel is ridiculous.There is no question as to why we people can not be allowed to work in power sectors etc.
i am selected in BANK IT officer job . i am also colour blind will i am also rejected?
i am selected in govt BANK IT officer job . i am also colour blind will i am also rejected?
pls reply
@Piyush Dawande:bro i m also red-green color vision defective n m a 4th yr EC student preparing 4 PSUs. can’t one get a fake medical certi from government coll n use its coz many PSUs just require only certi n color vision is not at all affecting my work.
can anyone tell me about outcome of tech mahindra .
IBM reject or not
@acdc:see dude the thing is you have too undergo medical examination at their(PSU’s) hospitals.But in case of BHEL etc I guess,they ask for just medical certificate.And I must tell you ain’t no doctor would produce a fake medical certificate unless and until you are very powerful person(an influential one).Cause if anything odd happens it would result into cancellation of medical registration of that doctor.I would rather advice you to not loose your heart and try to learn the ISHIHARA PLATES.Its not that easy so there is a training institute named SANJEEVANI HOSPITAL in MUMBAI who provide some training aids to facilitate the same.Well I think it would be enough to tell you this much at this time.And,Best of Luck for your preparations.I hope you get what you want…….
@Piyush Dawande-thank you so much for your reply. My chances of PSUs are practically over coz of Color vision defect. I am 4m EC. can i do M.tech?? which specialization can i go for?? Placement prospects with CVD. thanks in advance.
anyone with Color vision defect doing or have done m.tech can help me out.I am 4m EC. can i do M.tech?? which specialization can i go for?? Placement prospects with CVD. thanks in advance.
hi ,
i m selected at maruti …is there any chance of me getting thru medical fintness test as i m color blind ???
@ jatin…..what happened to ur tech m selection are u thru or u wer rejected….please reply as am cleard tech m n color blind 2…