Any suggestions for a career for a colour blind 18 year old boy?

[FlyMeToTheMoonandMars]

Hi,
My son is sitting his A-level exams and was hoping to apply for a role in the RAF (air traffic control or RPAS pilot). He has offers to study civil engineering at university but he came to me a while back and said his heart wasn't really in it and wanted to leave academia and start working/training in the real world. His offers still stand with the universities.
He is a bright boy and got 8's and 9's in his GCSE's with a strong background in maths. However, we always knew he suffered some form of colour blindness as I was suspicious when he was a child that he was and it was confirmed by a quick test at school and at the opticians. Had a chat with RAF recruitment and they said he needed to get the first 17 of the Ishihara colour blindness plates correct. I asked the optician if they could test him but they said no as they only had a few of the plates. So, I found a test site online and was able to donut from home. I got them all correct but he only got 6 and you could see he was really struggling to see the numbers.

So, it looks like the end for his RAF career. I've emailed them back as it is probably pointless even sending and application in.

So, I now have an 18 year old about to finish school and with no direction to go in.

His A-levels are maths, geography and product design. He chose the RAF due to his love of maths (and anything analytical), gaming and the need for speed! He is a very quick thinker!

Can anyone suggest a career that may suit him? My background is science so we are completely different in career choices!!

Looks like the cyber scheme is closed (at the moment) but technical is open. And I’d imagine the cyber scheme is opened up on some kind of cyclical basis.

Maths, quick thinking and such like would definitely be assets in those kind of roles.

There are also apprenticeship/training positions in loads of DDaT (Digital Data and Technology) profession roles in various government departments.

You can join the army with colourblindness (my dad is severely colour vision deficient) and served for a number of years) though obviously choices are limited - for example I was an Installation technician which he wouldn't be able to do as it relies on telling apart colours but the Royal Signals have other technical trades which he could probably do. It's worth looking into - just as technical as similar RAF trades.

And REME is another branch to look into.

Thanks for this. I'll take a look!

He might have already come across GIS (Geographic Information Systems) during his geography A-level but I don’t know if he’s considered it as a career. He might be out off because making maps wouldn’t necessarily work with his colour blindness but actually if he can make a map that he can see, then it’ll be accessible for a lot of people. It can be really creative, making engaging documents (that are accessible) or it can be really analytical. He also might still be able to go into the RAF via this route and do image analysis.

nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/geospatial-technician

Yes, I think he is a bit burnt out and fed up of studying for exams. He hasn't had any work experience. We tried to get him some but everyone just came back saying they weren't taking anyone due to the pandemic.
We have two holidays booked over the summer so I'm hoping to get him something sorted before September.

I'll look into it. Thanks!

He is actually talking about a gap year and getting a job for a year but I'm worried he'll get used to the money and end up staying in a lower paid job. Seen it happen too many times.

We've heard of them but not looked into it yet. I'll have a chat with him and see what he says.

Thanks! I might just do that after I've spoken to him.

Royal Navy? Not sure of colour blindness issue but given his interest in some kind of military training this might fit the bill, lots of technical specialisms available

He's willing to move. He would've moved for university anyway. We are in the north east.

Interesting!

I do think he's a bit lazy when it comes to researching careers but he had his heart set on the RAF and that has now lost its sparkle due the colour blindness.

One of my friends is absolutely colour blind. He is geologist and works in oil and gas.

Thanks! I will (he will) check it out.

If he’s taking a gap year, that means he has time to find out when lots of the big apprenticeship schemes open in various technical fields. So that’s useful.

Top top to stop him getting used to the money and not trying for something with prospects: Charge him realistic rent and board. You can save the money for him later in life if you prefer, but let him feel how expensive life is and just how little his salary will cover.

Product design is competitive but a friend did her degree in it. Architecture would probably fit well with his A Levels if he's interested in human geography. I really regret not studying architecture but I went into a related field and later did an urban design masters.

Civil engineering? There was a woman on The Life Scientific recently who has led massive construction projects (including cross rail I think) who studied chemical engineering and started her career in waste treatment - ie sewage.

So that was meant to say, it sometimes doesn't matter exactly where you start as you might end up somewhere unexpected.

Hmmm. Thing is, if he’s bright and driven, he might stay a while in that role, but he will eventually see the limits and move on, and find his natural level.

im defending that position a bit, because it is what I did to a certain extent. I did 7 years in a low paid job, rising to a (low paid) supervisory role. Then binned it off , travelled for a bit then got a job that enabled me to qualify for a professional role at my employers expense. But because of the previous excuse, I knew what I wanted and what my strengths and weaknesses were.

Excuse = experience. DYAC

He is interested in human geography! Sorry to be thick but what has that got to do with architecture?

Don't discount NHS apprenticeships either- one of the recent newsletters featured a young man in our Trust who started as an apprentice a few years ago and is now quite senior in the local regional ambulance service (on the systems organisational side, not clinical)

He is interested in human geography! Sorry to be thick but what has that got to do with architecture?

I worked in a related field for a long time (and have now switched).

Architecture should be about good placemaking. The stereotype of architecture is that it's about ego driven men creating ego driven buildings but it's far better for society to design buildings that sensitively respect their environment and offer places and spaces that feel good to be in i.e. their design enhances the lives of the people who use them and the people who see them.

There are also jobs in designing whole chunks of cities or even whole towns - this could be done by urban designers rather than architects but lots of allied professionals are involved from town planners to highways engineers to the people who design the waymarking (signage and how the streets are designed to be walkable and pleasant to be in as well as legible).

I used to work for the civil service body that advised the government on good design and placemaking. If he likes design and he likes human geography - which is about how people and space go together and how settlements have formed over history and why - it's not a huge leap to think about a career in designing places.

Oh and my boss in that civil service role was an architect and totally colour blind.