Tattoos and Piercings: Acceptable or Not?

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>I'm leaving for college and that means freedom. Freedom to get whatever tattoo or piercing I want. </p>

<p>That is as long as it doesn't prevent me from getting a research position, intership, or job. ;)</p>

<p>How acceptable are piercings and tattoos in the engineering world? The tattoos I'm looking into would either be behind my ear, on my wrist, on my back or on my foot. I'm looking into at most three cartilage piercings. </p>

<p>I'm thinking it shouldn't affect my outlook mainly because these places are noticeable and are easy to hide, but I would like to know the thoughts and perceptions of people who are in the field.</p>

2

<p>Think heavily before you do this. I was in the Navy and have a couple tattoos…One being on the inside of my right bicep. If you ever make it into a professional setting, someone will look down upon this. I was just in an engineering internship and the bosses had made that clear before they even knew I had one…hence I never wore a short sleeved shirt. Also, I have a cousin that is a consultant for PWC. She had one of those small foot tattoos that girls get, they made her cover it with makeup, which she had to do everyday because in a professional setting you wear high heels. Also, after a while, they are not as cool as when you first got them.</p>

3

<p>Why do you want a tattoo…because its cool i guess?? Well i don’t know. Honestly, it is looked down upon and i dont think this will be changing anytime soon. But I am working for a progressive tech company so there are people with tattoos where I work but they don’t meet with clients. Hell, people even wear flip flops and shorts to work and no one cares. Just know you may end up unintentionally hindering your progress in the corporate world, if you get one.</p>

4

<p>Yes, I am thinking heavily. I won’t be getting the tattoo for a year or two so I’d have time to look into the pros and cons. I think I know what I want. </p>

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I’m not denying the cool factor of a tattoo but this tattoo would be “meaningful”. </p>

<p>I want the piercing a lot more than the tattoo. The permanence of a tattoo is what is causing me to be hesitant (as I should be).</p>

5

<p>As a rule of thumb, people do value basic professionalism.</p>

6

<p>It depends on the company. This is a good question to ask when you get to the “do you have any questions for me?” part of the interview.</p>

7

<p>Actually, I would not ask it then. If they are against it, it may undo everything you just tried to present to them for the last half hour.</p>

8

<p>Why do you want to do something that can only harm you? Tattoos aren’t cool anymore</p>

9

<p>Opinions on tattoos and piercings likely vary a lot by employer (and probably region).</p>

<p>If you do not want to worry about it, do not get tattoos that would be visible while wearing normal clothing, and do not get visible piercings other than in the ear lobes.</p>

10

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Bear in mind that just because you can does not mean you should. I am (as many on here know) an advocate for such things, but college should be about opening doors, not closing them, and do not kid yourself that visible tattoos or piercings will not close at least some doors (however unjustly). Plus, tattoos are the kind of thing that need careful consideration and a solid investment - consider them carefully and invest in a quality artist. Piercings are less problematic, although there are certainly still health concerns that should steer you towards at least a hygienic piercer.</p>

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Not especially. I know a number of engineers (myself included) with tattoos, but we keep them covered at work - as an engineer you WILL at some point be interacting with customers, and since some of them will object to tattoos and piercings (why, I do not know) employers do not want people in professional positions with visible body modifications.</p>

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Behind your ear and on your wrist would not be concealable, so don’t do these. As for the foot or back, it depends on your gender and fashion interests - for men these would not be an issue as they would always be concealed, but for women it would mean certain fashions normally acceptable in the workplace would not work for you.</p>

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Again, depends on the gender and location. Men cannot generally get away with anything but earlobes, and women only have a little bit more latitude - perhaps some additional ear piercings or a discrete nose stud.</p>

<p>Please note that this is not unique to engineering - outside of the arts and some social sciences, the norm for professional positions is that you keep tattoos and piercings out of sight.</p>

11

<p>Be forewarned, the tattoo craze is dying down and piercings are becoming passe as well. If anything, it will date you 10, 20 years from now. Imagine having a permanent mullet or permanent 80s punk hair.</p>

12

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There was a tattoo craze? Tattooing has been around longer than recorded history. I was not aware of any particular waxing or waning, but if you are interested in permanent body modification then fashion trends cannot really be part of your decision.</p>

13

<p>I agree with tomservo, tattoos are a bad form of fashion. It is a bad idea to get something that you will hide in the workplace. Something that will make some people look down on you. It is not going to make you “cool”. High School is over :)</p>

<p>Tattoos have no real benefits and are a big mistake.</p>

14

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I actually agree with this, only because I do not particularly think of tattoos as fashion. It would be like getting married because that was “in” right now.</p>

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Why? Who wants to be entirely defined by the rules of your employer? And if it is in a location that is ordinarily hidden, it is not exactly a burden.</p>

<p>I hope you all realize how incredibly difficult it is at this juncture to NOT make some forum-inappropriate jokes.</p>

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People who are going to look down on you for having a tattoo are looking for reasons to look down on you, and I have no respect for that. Let them look down at me - they are getting it right back. </p>

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As odd as it may seem, not all tattoos are meant to make you look “cool” (categorically excepting tribals, which try but fail), and as an engineer society has already ensured that I can be uncool simply by telling people what I do for a living.</p>

<p>Although I should say that when I feel a bar fight brewing, I roll up my sleeves so that my tattoo of Maxwell’s equations shows - lets 'em know they better not start anything with me unless they want to get their magnetic field diverged.</p>

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The smiley really sold this.</p>

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I love it when people make value judgments for other people. I think watching hockey has no real benefits and is a big mistake. So I don’t watch hockey. But I don’t condemn those who do.</p>

15

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<p>I know some people get tattoos of things that represent something important to them. However, this is not the case of the OP. He wants to show freedom. Do you recommend anyone who is “free” to get tattoos just for the sake of getting one?</p>

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<p>You can’t compare getting a tattoo with watching hockey. Tattoos are permanent, getting a tattoo just because of fashion and freedom is not a good idea. What will happen if he gets tired of the looking at the same tattoo every single day?</p>

16

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He wants to exercise freedom - he did not indicate whether he has something meaningful he wants to get, so I did not assume. And your statements were very broad - you did not say “except for tattoos of things that represent something important to them”.</p>

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No, I do not. But again, I am not going to presume his motivations when he does not bring them up.</p>

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Sure I can! Just did, in fact!</p>

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And I agree, I just do not automatically default to that assumption.</p>

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What will happen if he doesn’t?</p>

<p>There is an engineer who I worked with side by side for years. Good engineer, loving husband, doting father. Wound up at a company retreat with him, saw him in a tank top for the first time - tattoos all over his upper arms and chest, some of them pretty new. Guy was still a good engineer, loving husband, doting father, no one’s opinions changed. The company president was there, as were most of his direct managers. Guy is having a great career so far, no indication whatsoever that having a ton of tattoos has been a problem for anyone at our pretty-darned-conservative company.</p>

17

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<p>I’m not surprised. Tattoos don’t really say anything about the person. However, some people will judge you and believe in stereotypes and won’t trust you with anything. I have seen this happen especially with other older people and the super traditional ones</p>

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<p>Well he is lucky but for the ones who do, they will have to move on and live with it.</p>

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<p>I should have had specified that my post only applies to those getting tattoos just because of peer pressure and trying to fit in with others. BTW I’m sorry if I offended you which wasn’t my intention. I was trying to get the OP to think twice before doing a permanent change to his body</p>

18

<p>cosmicfish, I really appreciate your responses. Many of the points you made we’re the same things I was going to say. </p>

<p>First things first, I’m a girl. :slight_smile: </p>

<p>The tattoo that I am interested in will be a quote that has played a key role in my life as of late. It’s shortened but I’d like to remember it every day. It keeps me true to myself. I’m not sure if I want it in another language or not, but it’s only four words, totaling to 13 letters. </p>

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Why wouldn’t it be concealable behind my ear? I was thinking it could arch along with the shape of my ear. My hair could cover it. If I have to cover it up, perhaps I could have a strand of hair tucked behind my ear? </p>

<p>It’d be the ear I part my hair on. That’s also the ear I want my cartilage piercing on. I’m only interested in piercing one ear. </p>

<p>Me getting a tattoo is not due to a craze or peer pressure. I’m honestly interested in it, I’m just not sure how it will affect my chances in the future. This:

is not me taking my new found freedom by the horns and taking down the darkest alley I can find. :smiley: My mom is pretty against tattoos or additional piercings. Once I leave, I’ll no longer be under her roof or the majority of her rules. I still respect her opinion, but not every child agrees with the opinions of their parent. </p>

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Other people’s opinions of me, especially ones that are based on my appearance, have no effect on me and looking “cool” is not in my agenda. </p>

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Why would they not trust me with anything for having four letters behind my ear, or on my foot, or on my finger*? </p>

<p>I greatly appreciate the responses from every one of you. You guys really have made me put some extra thought into this. I do want to (eventually) get into engineer management or even run my own engineering business so it’s nice to have an adult take on this. </p>

<p>*A coworker, who I have been working with for over a year, has a quote in the inside of her finger. I haven’t noticed it until tonight, although I did know that she had other tattoos.</p>

19

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Hate to say it, but this stuff really does matter. People are judged on their appearances and you will have a hard time in the professional world if you don’t dedicate a significant effort to your appearance.
Shallow? Definitely. But people do this, and you will be judged and you will lose opportunities over your appearance. It’s just the way people are.</p>

20

<p>@Neo I know that. This was in response to a poster saying not to get something someone will look down on you for. If someone, who is not in great authority, is looking down on me for something they can’t even see, I have no care for their opinion on that matter. Just like cosmic said: They’re looking for something to dislike. I may even extend this to a person in authority, if my boss can’t see it then there is no need to fret, especially, if I’m a valuable employee.</p>