Prospective Engineering Major and Visual Impairment?

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

It has taken me months to find the courage to write this post. But I need some advice from engineers. Basically, I am a rising HS junior who is legally blind. I don’t have any depth perception. I’ve been really interested in engineering, but I’m not sure it would be the best career choice for me because of my limitations with my disability.

I’ve taken two full years of engineering classes in high school, and will have taken four total by the end of high school in a STEM program.

In these classes, I have noticed problems working with small objects - for example, when we worked on circuitry for eight weeks, it really put strain on my eyes. Anything that involves small parts…I just really struggle.

I also have problems with SolidWorks- it takes weeks to do something that would only take someone two days to complete. Furthermore, I have issues with making working drawings by hand as well.

And perhaps, the greatest fear I have is working with big machines. Heck, I’m even scared to use paper cutters! This is mainly due to my depth perception problem. I don’t trust myself to use the machines we have.

Even if my future job doesn’t involve these things, I will still have to encounter them in undergrad. I recently toured an engineering school that I’m extremely interested in, and my biggest concerns were admit in looking at their lab space—I just don’t know if I could handle how visual everything is.

I really love engineering. I love the real world problem solving, the math, the collaboration. I’m good at these things. But it’s just the “hands on” part I struggle with. I recently did an engineering project that earned me a spot to compete in the Intel ISEF this year, and through the collaboration and work I did to help people really made me realize this is something I want to do with my life. However, I also want to be realistic.

With that said, I know some engineering majors are more hands on than others. I used to be really interested in aerospace, mechanical, and electrical engineering, but realized these are very “hands on”. But is that only in undergrad? I would like some professional opinions.

I was really interested in working for the National Transportation Safety Board for aviation accidents, until I found out you had to have pilot experience. (Which is something I cannot do.) Overall, I am extremely interested in aviation and the design of planes and their avionics. I also am interested in “investigation” types of engineering…where there was a problem and you have to try and find out why it happened. Like accident investigations, things of that nature.

Do these types of things require a lot of visual adaptation? I love engineering, I’m just not sure if it’s a good fit considering my situation. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I really appreciate it.

2

One of my coworkers has poor eyesight. He can see well enough to get a driver’s license, but barely. He is an engineer.

He does controls software, which might be worth your time to check out. Avionics and flight controls have a lot of software in them.

His mannerisms are a little different, but totally accepted. If someone were to tease him about that, well, I once told someone new to the group that I was confident everyone in the group would stop it immediately.

So, for the question you asked, yes it’s possible, but you might find software engineering a more favorable field.

For the question you didn’t ask, with most engineering groups, there will not be any social problems, particularly if you work hard and can do good work.

Edit: Unclear prepositional phrase removed.

3

My D knew a blind engineer at Swarthmore, Hayden Dahmm.

http://college.usatoday.com/2015/05/28/blind-engineering-student-set-to-graduate-from-swarthmore-college/

4

First, there’s no reason poor eyesight should keep you from engineering, including aerospace, mechanical, and electrical.

Second, probably every university has some sort of disability center whose job it is to coordinate accommodations for students who need them.

Third, aerospace is not all that hands-on at the undergraduate level, to be honest. That’s part of the reason it has such a high attrition rate. It’s much more mathy and less hands-on than many assume.

5

What is your diagnosis?

6

@50N40W You’re very right about CS and software being more flavorful. For me, it’s mainly because it’s 10x more accessible with a visual impairment, because you have screen reading and magnifying software. Although I love CS, I don’t know if I want to be doing a lot of programming. It’s more of a hobby. What kinds of stuff does he do? Controls sounds interesting with avionics.

Like your coworker, I also barely passed my vision exam for driving. I actually had to go to a special doctor to get clearance. But this is for my temps…I’m not sure how my actual license will go…which is why I still haven’t tried to drive yet with my temps. I’m quite frankly really frightened that I may end up in an accident.

And about the social problems… I find that my peers are more accepting and willing to help more than my actual engineering teachers. LOL, they treat me like I don’t understand anything and then get annoyed when I’m slower than everyone else. And then I get extremely embarrassed for something that I can’t help.

7

@SweetTea Thank you for the link. I’ll look into that.

@boneh3ad Yes, I am very aware. It’s just I’m not sure how many tools are out there to help with the “hands on” part if I do encounter that. What about mechanical and electrical engineering? Thank you for the info about aerospace. That makes me feel better. What kinds of things do most areospace engineering programs require?

@eyemgh I only have light perception in one of my eyes. Other eye is also really bad, but is corrected for the most part with glasses.

8

Although you don’t have stereopsis (true 3D depth perception from having two offset eyes sending coordinated, but slightly different images to the brain) you do have depth perception. This is mainly through proximity cues and motion parallax. The biggest issue is whether it’s acquired or congenital.

People who are functionally monocular from very early childhood on tend to fair better because they’ve never had to deal with loss. There are many, many functionally monocular engineers working with absolutely no problem at all. They’ve never known any difference.

Acquired vision loss is a bit of a different story. It’s much more disorienting.

In either case, assuming no other confounding factors, you should be able to drive fine, and work in engineering, even doing hands on activities. Your drive and desire will be your only limiting factors.

To give you an example, you can even get a waiver for a pilot license if you are monocular.

Good luck!

9

@eyemgh That’s interesting, because all of my doctors say I don’t have depth perception. I should mention that I don’t have a lens in one of my eyes and in that eye I have ROP.

Yeah I’ve been visually impaired since birth, so that’s better than loosing it. (:

Thank you for your input!

10

Many doctors misuse the term depth perception for stereopsis. Stereopsis is a cue to depth, like parallax and proximity, but technically not depth perception per se. More correctly they should say you don’t have normal 3D vision. You don’t perceive that you live in a 2D world though. You have clues that tell you how far to reach for a glass at the table, or how far to pull into a parking space, or where to grab when something is tossed to you. These are all things that require depth perception, but aren’t quite as easy without the added clue of stereopsis.

My suspicion is that you’re fairly nearsighted in your good eye, as most ROP patients are. That in and of itself is neither here nor there, as myopia is very prevalent in the engineering community.

There are few, if any engineering jobs (any jobs for that matter) that your visual status will substantially get in the way of. You can go as far as you want to.

Good luck!

BTW, replacement of the lens wouldn’t make any difference. Even if your retina in that eye was suitably intact, which it’s probably not, the many years as an aphake (no lens) left you with what’s called deprivation amblyopia. The pathways in your brain for clear vision from that eye never got a proper stimulus to form. Now it’s too late, even with a clear image.

11

Most colleges are accommodating to students. A hearing impaired student in one of my classes has a CC system. I’m color blind and when the CS professors slides were color coded I talked to him and he changed it so they were identified with symbols rather than colors.

12

We’re in a non automotive but related industry. We might get a new sensor or actuator to integrate into an existing machine. This involves some software (often a graphical language) but includes analysis, FMEAs, documentation for regulatory compliance (like what VW didn’t do) leading design reviews, bench and maybe machine testing when the hardware shows up, and so on.
Some days it doesn’t feel like it, but there’s really quite a bit of variety.

13

@eyemgh I was actually thinking about that a couple of months ago, but forgot until you mentioned that. That makes quite a lot of sense though!

@10s4life I’m not really concerned about lectures and stuff, just labs. And I know it’s also harder to “accommodate” with that kind of lab setting. But that’s good to know. I think I should start to contact some colleges to see how any new accommodations in a lab setting might be useful. But I’m also a DE student at a community college, and from what I’ve experienced so far, they have more resources than my high school does in terms of technology to help…but I’ve only taken lecture classes ATM.

@50N40W That’s really interesting. Thanks for the information!

14

I think it will be ok. Your lab partners can help you too. Our situations are different but I just end up asking my lab partners for help on graph and wire color when doing circuits. But for EE you really don’t do many labs. At least at UCLA it’s just 2 physics labs and 2 circuit labs. Most of everything is theoretical honework.