Realistic Impact of a Tattoo

[synorg]

I'm lookin to get a tattoo in the next few weeks before graduation and I know exactly what I want. The problem is location. I'm hoping some people on here might have some experience, or know of folks who have experience, in the actual consequences of having a visible tattoo.

I'm not getting anything controversial tattooed on me, but in science and engineering could this really affect my future job prospects? I'd like to think that my degree and abilities will speak for themselves, but I'm not sure. Thanks in advance for the feedback!

[ktel]

Avoid the neck, face and hands. See http://digg.com/newsbar/topnews/Tattoo_Body_Map_What_Your_Bad_Decision_Says_About_You

[process chemist]

If you can't cover it with clotes, don't do it. Always keep them covered. Went four years on my job, and on grad school interview and nobody knew I had a half sleeve on my left arm.

[Rachel B]

Even though so many people have tattoos today, I don't think the professional world and tattoos are in harmony by any means. If you're looking to work in an office or a professional field, you should expect to cover up any type of tattoo. I have three tattoos: one on each shoulder blade and one below my collarbone. I attended an interview for an internship last summer and just because the edge of my tattoo was showing, the office coordinator told me I would need to change tops or wear a scarf. So like you said, location is the biggest factor. Of course, avoid the face, neck, and hands. But if you're considering your lower arms for any reason, ask yourself if you always want to have to wear long sleeves while at work. Because of my one tattoo, I have to make sure I buy tops that have a higher neckline or make sure I pin my shirts so that my tattoo is covered. It's just something else to consider.

[synorg]

thanks guys, i'll just have to be very critical of the placement. it is super annoying that people can't see past that, though :/

[LOLBRBY2K]

I think there is somewhat of a double standard in the workplace when it comes to tattoos for women. I think if you are a man, employers will probably look the other way if it peeks out from time to time. On the otherhand, I think women will probably be more 'judged' it its visible... I am a woman with a tattoo (above my ankle) and it isnt tiny. I regret getting it (got it when I was 18--am now 25) because 1) if its showing people always ask about it, expecting some whole elaborate story, when there is none, and id rather not draw attention to it at all, and 2) hiding it is fine in the winter months, but it summer I cannot wear skirts or shorts if I dont want to show it... even if it is a million degrees outside. Which sucks.

Its more of an irritation for me than anything. I wish I didnt get one at all.

[prolixity]

I have two finger tattoos and two lower arm tattoos and have received no sideways glances from the faculty at my stodgy ivy-league PhD program. Social mores are changing and I doubt you'll find much discrimination when applying for positions for which you are well-qualified. If you try to hide your tattoo like a dirty secret, boring people won't realize that you are tattooed and just like them and that the tattoo has no bearing on your ability to perform a certain job.. in other words, you're not helping the cause.

I feel the same way about beards.. we need more of them in this world.

I'm lookin to get a tattoo in the next few weeks before graduation and I know exactly what I want. The problem is location. I'm hoping some people on here might have some experience, or know of folks who have experience, in the actual consequences of having a visible tattoo.

I'm not getting anything controversial tattooed on me, but in science and engineering could this really affect my future job prospects? I'd like to think that my degree and abilities will speak for themselves, but I'm not sure. Thanks in advance for the feedback!

[ktel]

I don't think I'm very prudish or old fashioned, but I definitely judge a lot of tattoos. That's because a lot of tattoos are bad, and it makes me wonder what they were thinking.

[kaykaykay]

"boring people won't realize that you are tattooed and just like them and that the tattoo has no bearing on your ability to perform a certain job.. "

oh gosh I guess I could mix it up and go in my swimsuit to teach. All the boring people would realize that a having no shirt on has no beaing on my ability to perform a certain job.

You should not judge people if they expect you to go by the dress code.Also this is the first place where I hear that there is a discrimination against beards. I have a lot of professional bearded acquaintances.

Edited May 2, 2012 by kalapocska

[prolixity]

"boring people won't realize that you are tattooed and just like them and that the tattoo has no bearing on your ability to perform a certain job.. "

oh gosh I guess I could mix it up and go in my swimsuit to teach. All the boring people would realize that a having no shirt on has no beaing on my ability to perform a certain job.

You should not judge people if they expect you to go by the dress code.Also this is the first place where I hear that there is a discrimination against beards. I have a lot of professional bearded acquaintances.

The majority of jobs in corporate america prohibit beards. I also do not understand your swimsuit analogy. Everyone has two nipples and a belly-button, but not everyone has a tattoo. Tattoos can be shown not to be taboo only through the increasing exposure of tattoos by normal people to untattooed individuals.

I have a functioning slide rule on my fingers. Tell me that's not awesome.

[DragonChem]

I'm lookin to get a tattoo in the next few weeks before graduation and I know exactly what I want. The problem is location. I'm hoping some people on here might have some experience, or know of folks who have experience, in the actual consequences of having a visible tattoo.

I'm not getting anything controversial tattooed on me, but in science and engineering could this really affect my future job prospects? I'd like to think that my degree and abilities will speak for themselves, but I'm not sure. Thanks in advance for the feedback!

[DragonChem]

I have a three tattoos, and I love them all, and I'm a woman. One of them is on my upper back I can easily hide it, but sometimes I don't (the others are always hidden). In my experience, the lab is pretty much where we live, and during the normal work week (non TA days, etc.) there is nothing professional about the way any grad students dress. In any situation where I want to look professional, my wardrobe is not limited by my tattoos.. So, location is important, but don't let grad school stop you if you really want a tattoo, and don't feel like it necessarily always has to be covered. I do agree with avoiding neck/arms/wrists, or areas that can't be easily covered.

[TheFez]

I am judgmental. I look at tattoos (maybe wrongly) as some sort of expression that the owner wants me to take notice of. (Or else they would hide it and keep it personal). Like a fashion statement - say a bow tie, or a Fedora, a (visible) tattoo seems to be a signal to others.

For me, it's not so much that someone has a tattoo - I am more judgmental about it's content. My friend (a male mechanical engineer) recently got a "Tweety Bird" tattoo. He has no particular personal attachment to Warner Brothers or Canaries he just thought it "looked cool". I thought this showed a lack of deep thought. My own difficulty with getting a tattoo is that nothing seems important enough to mark it indelibly on my body. (Though I have thought about getting a QR Code tattoo so that I could change the message dynamically. Perhaps if I joined a prison gang I would feel inspired.

Expecting people not to look at a tattoo, or being offended that they do, seems hypocritical to me. A tattoo is not a scar or a birthmark, it's usually a decoration. It would be like wearing a bikini and expecting people not to look at your legs (yes, I am a leg man).

So, I am not so much biased by the existence of a tattoo as I am by a seemingly meaningless and poorly executed tattoo. Of course some people have so many tattoos that any individual tattoo seems to be secondary to the idea of just painting their body with ink. But that's a different signal altogether.

[cajunmama]

I'm in grad school, in engineering, a woman, have five tattoos and they are all easily coverable. Tattoos are not the taboo they used to be, but in some circles, it doesn't look "professional". That said, synorg, if it is a concern of yours that the tattoo may impact your future employment, then put it somewhere inconspicuous/ easily coverable. That way you can have what you want and at the same time not run the risk of endangering your employment prospects.

We can discuss how skills should outweigh body art, and all that should/shouldn't be, but in the end, we have to deal with the reality of the world we live in. If you really want a bada$$ tattoo of a dragon on your neck, then you implicitly accept ALL of the consequences of having one. It all depends on what is important to you.

[R Deckard]

My friend (a male mechanical engineer) recently got a "Tweety Bird" tattoo. He has no particular personal attachment to Warner Brothers or Canaries he just thought it "looked cool". I thought this showed a lack of deep thought.

A tattoo is... a decoration.

The purpose of a decoration is to "look cool." How much "deep thought" do you put into other types of decorations?

If your friend enjoys having a "cool" looking tattoo, then by all means he should take it with him everywhere he goes and enjoy it. Everybody likes to look cool, you know.

[TheFez]

I also think there's a double standard about beards - since in many places it's considered okay for a man to have a beard, but not for a woman.

[Sigaba]

but in science and engineering could this really affect my future job prospects?

FWIW, I'm not an engineering/science type, but I've worked for two engineering firms. One was a software R&D lab. The other, a structural/architectural engineering consultancy.

While the culture of the two shops were almost polar opposites the cultural norms allowed for behavior on the job that made work a lot of fun. Even so, both houses had an unwritten emphasis on conforming to those cultural sensibilities.

At the software firm, if one dressed in anything more formal than jeans, or got to work too early, one might get weird looks and, on occasion, called into a boss's office (at which point you'd explain that you were simply out of clean clothes).

At the consultancy, if you weren't cut from the same mold as the folks at the home office, or didn't get to work early enough, the Powers That Be would ask a lot of questions about you and give you quizzical looks when they came for a visit.

At both shops, people either did not get jobs or lost their jobs because they gave the impression that, regardless of their skills and expertise, they simply did not fit into the culture. Ain't that something.

[Dal PhDer]

I have a functioning slide rule on my fingers. Tell me that's not awesome.

a.w.e.s.o.m.e. seriously- best tattoo ever!

I am debating another tattoo. The one I would like to get would be visable, whereas my current one isn't. I am really enjoyed reading the perspectives of people on here...I think it's important not only to consider the 'meaning' of a tatoo when you get it, but also the implications/impact that if might have for job opportunitites...

i also feel the same way with piercings. I took out one when i started grad school, but still have my nose pierced. I think certain ones are a bit more acceptable...but I do wonder if one day I will have to take out my nose ring or risk being taken seriously. Since I have this thought, i am on the fence about getting the tattoo I want...desire over impact....Ahh!!

How would you guys feel if your professor had tattoos and piercings? would you look at them differently?

[puddle]

I suggest mid/upper back... I have two tattoos in this general area. The first one was a "colour in the lines" after I got a really bad sun-burn with a sports bra and the second one is approximately over my kidneys. Both are hidden 99.9% of the time which I appreciate because: 1. if I could see them every day I might stop liking them, 2. I don't have to have the "what my tattoos mean" conversation every day, and 3. respectability is well within my grasp!

a.w.e.s.o.m.e. seriously- best tattoo ever!

I am debating another tattoo. The one I would like to get would be visable, whereas my current one isn't. I am really enjoyed reading the perspectives of people on here...I think it's important not only to consider the 'meaning' of a tatoo when you get it, but also the implications/impact that if might have for job opportunitites...

i also feel the same way with piercings. I took out one when i started grad school, but still have my nose pierced. I think certain ones are a bit more acceptable...but I do wonder if one day I will have to take out my nose ring or risk being taken seriously. Since I have this thought, i am on the fence about getting the tattoo I want...desire over impact....Ahh!!

How would you guys feel if your professor had tattoos and piercings? would you look at them differently?

On the subject of piercings - I have 2 eyebrow piercings (same side) and a double-helix piercing (fun how that's what it is called) and while everyone notices them (hard not to), no one has ever suggested that they are unprofessional or incompatible with my life as a graduate student, RA, TA, or international researcher.

[ktel]

An acquaintance of mine was recently in Houston, Texas. I appreciated all her Facebook status updates that explained how seemingly normal things here are inappropriate there. RE: Nose rings:

"

NOSE RINGS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE IN HOUSTON BUSINESS ENVIRONMENTS. People will ask you "has work said anything about your jewelry" and also "please cover up all piercings" "

[prettyuff1]

I have a bunch of tattoos and none of them really matter some visible some arent.. The bulk of people i have seen working in industry have had lower arm/wrist tattoos and never had a problem with it. I think in the sciences we can get away with a little more given the nature of most of the people in our field.. most of the time, people are excited that scientists can match our clothes. lol

i can also say that I have a friend who is a director of financial aid at major university, and she has 2 wrist tattoos. her sister works for verizon and has a large tattoo on her foot

[wildviolet]

How would you guys feel if your professor had tattoos and piercings? would you look at them differently?

I had a male college professor who had an earring (this was back in the late '90s). He was an awesome and cool professor! He also brought us Krispy Kreme donuts on the last day of class.

I don't see many visible tattoos on academics. Then again, they could all be hidden.

[MayuYou]

On 27.04.2012 at 3:10 AM, ktel said:

Avoid the neck, face and hands. See http://digg.com/newsbar/topnews/Tattoo_Body_Map_What_Your_Bad_Decision_Says_About_You

Why hands? Tattoos on fingers look great and they are not so painful..My tattoo artist said that it is also not so dangerous. http://inkprofy.com/finger-tattoos/ here you can read about them. I found it when I was searching some info about hands/fingers tattoos. I have severals and it's ok.