Individual style in graduate school

[DeafAudi]

I'm thinking of adding blue streaks to my boring brown hair. Thoughts? I don't want to come across as unprofessional. I always dress in business casual (blazers, heels, dark colored bottoms) so I'm hoping it'll offset the hair. I would also keep up the color because nothing looks worse than faded hair dye.

 

My field is professional and I will eventually be in practicums where I have to work with clients, if that helps. 

[maelia8]

What's the academic environment like at the university you'll be attending, as well as the environment of the field you work in? If your school/city/region are in general fairly liberal, then I think that as a graduate student it would probably be alright. However, I know there are areas where hair colors that are not naturally occurring are quite looked down on in any profession beyond artists/musicians.

[DeafAudi]

What's the academic environment like at the university you'll be attending, as well as the environment of the field you work in? If your school/city/region are in general fairly liberal, then I think that as a graduate student it would probably be alright. However, I know there are areas where hair colors that are not naturally occurring are quite looked down on in any profession beyond artists/musicians.

 

I'll be living in a very liberal city, and the university is located on a nude beach, 'nuff said . The field seems to be pretty laid back in terms of dress but I can't say I've ever seen a SLP or audiologist with colored hair. 

[maelia8]

eh, if your city and university are liberal, then I think it's definitely fine. If you're worried about it, I'd run it by an advisor or older grad student and see if there's been any issues with brightly colored hair before. If not, you're probably good to go

[DeafAudi]

Will do, thanks!  

[Nautiloid]

I too plan on dying my hair ridiculous colors once I'm out of industry and back in academia. I actually asked the department if that was appropriate during the interview, and there was a resounding "who cares?" 

Of course, my experience may differ substantially between other schools and departments, but from my experience in industry, if you're not working with customers then nobody really cares what you look like. 


Also, I'm super excited to change my look for grad school. I've been in business casual for much to long and it's always felt stuffy to me. Can't wait to be myself again! 

Edited May 27, 2014 by Nautiloid

[TakeruK]

From my experience at the school you're going to, you'll fit right in! A person passing by you on campus will just think "Another day at [school]!" I also feel that individuality is strongly celebrated there and you will probably get a lot of positive feedback. (I'm avoiding mentioning the school name even though it's in both of our signatures in case you decide to not include this information later on and don't want the school name to stay in this thread).

[spunky]

I'll be living in a very liberal city, and the university is located on a nude beach

 

OMG! that's UBC! 

 

by all means dye your hair. it's not unusual to see professionals around here with some extra personal flair here and there (e.g. my bank advisor has his arms covered in tattoos and he doesn't mind showing 'em off... the formal business attire+tattoos somehow works for him)

Edited May 27, 2014 by spunky

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

I've seen some hippy looking professors. If they're allowed to grow their beard to their ankles and dress like it's a Grateful Dead concert, I don't see why you're not allowed to have some blue streaks. 

[sayjo]

I'll be living in a very liberal city, and the university is located on a nude beach, 'nuff said . The field seems to be pretty laid back in terms of dress but I can't say I've ever seen a SLP or audiologist with colored hair. 

 

DeafAudi, I'm going to say that I'm not sure about hair color.  I wouldn't feel comfortable having an unnatural hair color as an SLP - though audiology might be different since you're not really going to be in schools and such.  I was a teacher for the past five years and unnatural hair color was definitely a no-no (as were sandals, capri-style dress pants, leggings, etc).  

 

When do you start your placements?  If you don't start right away, you could color your hair for the first semester or so and see how you feel after that.  There's probably a decent amount of people that won't have a problem with it, but you never know.  

[DeafAudi]

OMG! that's UBC! 

 

by all means dye your hair. it's not unusual to see professionals around here with some extra personal flair here and there (e.g. my bank advisor has his arms covered in tattoos and he doesn't mind showing 'em off... the formal business attire+tattoos somehow works for him.

 

Great, thanks for the advice! I think that's cool about your bank advisor--I'm not sure why tattoos and dyed hair and piercings (if it's done well) must be separate from business casual, anyway  .

 

Sayjo, I agree, it's hard to know if unnatural hair color would be acceptable at the hospitals and clinics I'll be working in (unlikely). I think I will take your advice and dye it for the first semester and play it by ear from there. Hopefully by then I'll be bored of it and won't miss it if I do end up having to dye it back. 

Edited May 27, 2014 by DeafAudi

[DeafAudi]

Also, I'm super excited to change my look for grad school. I've been in business casual for much to long and it's always felt stuffy to me. Can't wait to be myself again! 

 

ME TOO! I'll never get this chance again and didn't experiment with my look until recently (regretting this!) so why not now?

[samiam]

I have had blue streaks in my hair for the last couple of years, working in an organisation that sits somewhere between professional and academia, and have had no problems with it. I plan to keep them for grad school, maybe add some green too.  I do have them done in such a way that I can pretty much hide them if I need to - I have my hairdresser leave the very top layer my natural colour so if I pull it back in a bun and comb it the right way you can't see them. But I only bother to do that once or twice a year, for an unusually formal/stuffy meeting or presentation.

[dat_nerd]

I think it depends on how you wear it. I've kept my hair bright red for the past few years, and I usually style it spiked up. For conferences though, I'll wear it a bit more toned-down.

 

I was originally worried about whether to keep it for grad school. At first, I thought it'd be unprofessional, but I've actually found that it does help me professionally. First, people will recognize and remember you pretty easily   . Second, I found that it forced me to be bold, which is important in an environment where you need to learn to defend your own ideas. 

 

Anyways, that's my two cents. If you do decide to dye your hair, I hope you'll post a photo of it!

[dat_nerd]

Oh and another note: I always try to go one level up on the dress code to offset the "unprofessional" hair color. If it's a casual academic event, I'll go business casual. If it's business casual, I'll go a bit closer to business formal. 

[Fiz]

Screw it. Im just shaving my head.

[DeafAudi]

Oh and another note: I always try to go one level up on the dress code to offset the "unprofessional" hair color. If it's a casual academic event, I'll go business casual. If it's business casual, I'll go a bit closer to business formal. 

 

Agreed!

[Maleficent999]

Personally, I'm heavily-tattooed but I can easily cover up in a professional setting. I have other heavily-tattooed friends and I think it still looks professional when they dress up even if their tattoos are visible. Like the poster above said, if you kick it up a notch to offset any unprofessional perceptions I think you should be fine with colored hair. I'm considering going back to having pink or purple hair like I did for the first bit of undergrad. It made me feel like a superhero haha

[DeafAudi]

Personally, I'm heavily-tattooed but I can easily cover up in a professional setting. I have other heavily-tattooed friends and I think it still looks professional when they dress up even if their tattoos are visible. Like the poster above said, if you kick it up a notch to offset any unprofessional perceptions I think you should be fine with colored hair. I'm considering going back to having pink or purple hair like I did for the first bit of undergrad. It made me feel like a superhero haha

 

I completely agree. I see nothing wrong with tattoos in a professional setting and it's too bad its frowned down upon in some professions. I would definitely consider getting a tattoo or two one day, although I probably wouldn't get any on my arms or legs because those are harder to cover up (I like to wear skirts or short sleeved shirts).

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

I completely agree. I see nothing wrong with tattoos in a professional setting and it's too bad its frowned down upon in some professions. I would definitely consider getting a tattoo or two one day, although I probably wouldn't get any on my arms or legs because those are harder to cover up (I like to wear skirts or short sleeved shirts).

I wouldn't want to need a heart surgeon with tear drops on his face. 

[C&C]

In my last semester of undergrad I had my hair as a dark brunette to fuchsia ombre...and several of my professors (thesis advisor included) liked it. My hair is currently toned down to light brown ombre, and I love it.

 

Go for the blue! 

[St Andrews Lynx]

Personally, I think that as long as your clothes are neat/clean, you smell nice and act with a professional demeanour...a bit of blue hair dye won't matter. 

[Maleficent999]

RE: gnomechomsky

I know a lot of tattooed people and I have spent a lot of time at conventions. The only people I see with facial tattoos are professional tattoo artists and artists of other types (models, musicians, etc.). Although I disagree with your reasoning, I think you probably won't have to worry about making that decision.

Edited May 31, 2014 by Maleficent999

[seeingeyeduck]

In my area, tattoos, hair color and random clothes are pretty common so you could definitely get away with it. As long as you're nice and professional no one would have any problems with it, but I can see how in more conservative places it'd be a problem. Depends on the area.

[CageFree]

If you are just starting, you're probably fine. Once you're out on the job market, though, you may need to tone it down, as you never know what kind of environment you'll be interviewing in.