So I have 1 tattoo right now on my inner forearm. I really want another one that wraps around my entire arm (about 2 inches away from my wrist, about 5-6 inches total for the tattoo) but Im afraid it will affect my chances for a job. It’s nothing scary or demeaning (It’s a darkened outline of a forest), but I’m still scared it could affect my chances. The only things i’m interested in right now are chemistry/bio (researcher, doctor, vet, idk yet) and computer science (software engineering). Are these fields lenient on tattoos or not? Thanks!
Depends on the person hiring. It can negatively impact you if visible.
It could. I get the impression tech is pretty accepting however who knows your future path?
One of my kids had an internship at a nonprofit that did not allow visible tattoos, and this wasn’t a super uptight place but a place where employees interacted with the public.
Why close any possible doors if you don’t have to as you never know where your future would take you. I’d stick to places that can be easily covered without having to wear clothing to your wrists all the time.
When I was considering a wrist bracelet tattoo (in my 30s, how gauche), a more senior co-worker suggested that I get on my watch hand side…so I could cover if up when situations warranted. It was very good advice.
I’m in a creative field so it doesn’t really matter much…but I like having the ability to not make it an issue.
You can wear long sleeves whenever you interview. If they hire you and then they notice you have tattoos, that sounds like a personal problem they need to get over.
Not if it is written in company policy as it sometimes is and was for the internship I referenced above.
You have many years ahead of you and you don’t know where life will take you. My brother got beautiful art over his entire torso and arms in his 20s, but he was careful that all could be covered with a button down shirt. He still loves his tatoos but as a senior manager in IT, he does wear shirts to his wrists at work at all times. It is just not appropriate in his current job and his current seniority level to show his tatoos. In fact, I’m not sure how many people even know about his tatoos. His wife (of now 10 years) said she was shocked when she first saw them. It’s not that he’s ashamed of it, but he is “a staid pillar of the community type” now (35 years after he got the artwork), and people have preconceptions about people who are covered in tatoos and he doesn’t want to deal with that.
I would wait. Good jobs are hard enough to come by, why do something that might reduce your chances? You’ll really hate yourself if your “dream” job comes up but no tats are allowed. Get one where it can be covered easily by a shirt.
A tattoo is for life, unless you get expensive laser treatments. How will you feel about it when you are a senior citizen? One day, it wil happen. If you are at all hesitant, I wouldn’t do it.
Tattoos are so common now and so many people have them. But what is also very common are stories of regrets about tattoos. Personally, I would never get one in a visible place, which might defeat the purpose for some people.
Here are some easy and interesting graphics: http://www.businessinsider.com/what-hiring-managers-really-think-of-your-tattoos-2016-1
^Very cool link. I have several tattoos, a couple that are apparent unless I am trying to hide them and a few that you only see in a bathing suit or the like, one I’d like to have removed. The one on my inside wrist is the only one that is always visible. That being said, the only time I’ve threatened to cease college payments was when D was giving serious thought to a tattoo. We came to an understanding…once she gets her Bachelors Degree she can do as she pleases, until then, no tats. I figure by the time she is 22 she might understand better the potential for decrease in job opportunities, especially in the Math fields, and especially in government where she is leaning. My S27 has several tats as well but they are not visible most of the time. The USAF and his now current contract job with the government aren’t really keen on tats either. I wish more parents would educate their kids on the downside to tats, at least those 16-22, instead of being the “cool” parents who allow them (and other things like facial piercings).
My now 19 year old son really wanted a tattoo last year. He thought long and hard, then got one that I love-- and I’m not a tattoo person.
It’s a heart intertwined with a triangle, a symbol of adoption. One side of the triangle is him, one is us, one is his birth mom/dad. He has the date of his adoption inside.
It’s on his forearm, so it could be easily covered with a long sleeved shirt.
And it’s one of the few symbols that I can’t see him ever regretting.
It is not just the fields, but also the regions and the specific employers that can vary considerably in whether they may care about tattoos. Until you get into the workforce where you have a better idea of what field and region you will be working in, and whether various employers there care about tattoos, it is best not to get tattoos that are visible when wearing normal clothing that you would wear to work.
A forearm tattoo would mean that you may need to wear long sleeved shirts all the time if working at a tattoo-unfriendly place. Maybe that is what you prefer to wear anyway, or may be necessary anyway at some places with restrictive dress codes (e.g. suit-and-tie), but you do not know now whether that will be true several years from now (since it looks like you are either in high school or beginning of college).
If you do get one, you always have the option to wear a long sleeve button up, or a jacket to cover it up for an interview and for your first couple of weeks (or days) on the job until you find out their policy. You don’t necessarily have to disclose that you have a tattoo, but you can always inquire about their policy and then pick your attire based on that.
Tattoos are really popular but social norms especially among the older crowd die hard.
I’d say don’t do a tattoo if you are not willing or able to cover it up in many situations.
Tattoos aren’t a fashion statement that you can take off–they are a very personal statement. No matter how small it’s apparent to someone else that you’ve made the decision to ink yourself in a very permanent way.
And most business dealings are not conducive to “personal” statements which is why it’s better to cover them.
I know a couple of guys who got tats on the back of their leg (calf). It is easily covered in almost all work situations.