Do Tattoos Affect Job Opportunities?

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If you have any design on your dermis layer that changes the color of your skin by inserting ink, pigments, and dyes which are either temporary or indelible, then you’ve tattooed your body. Generally, tattoos fall into three main categories; those made for decorative purposes, those that are symbolic to have a specific meaning to the wearer, and those which are pictorial to represent a specific item or person. Whether you have at least one tattoo or you are planning to have it, you might be wondering if tattoos have anything to do with job opportunities. Let’s discover.

Do Tattoos Affect Job Opportunities?

Maybe you are among the millennial between the age of eighteen and twenty-nine who have at least one tattoo, here is some good news for you. In case you worry about your employment prospects, note that in most cases it looks like having a tattoo will not affect your job opportunity at all. In fact, at times it can help you secure a job opportunity. That is the conclusion drawn by the new research conducted about the connection between tattoos, employment, and earnings in the U.S. labor market. The research represents a drastic change from the past when tattoos were less popular and seen as a big deal.

Firstly, jobs tend to care less about what people care about. Jobs require skills meaning that if you are good in communication, teamwork, professionalism, critical thinking, and self-management the tattoos have nothing to do with the opportunity. That will remain unless the recruiters or the so-called hiring managers will care about tattoos. However, the society today has changed greatly in the last twenty years or so.

Many people have tattoos making employers have very little choice but to accept tattooed employees. Considering the employer as the viewer, hidden tattoos are obviously not a problem at all, but visible tattoos might raise concern if the employer thinks it’s too much. If it is tasteful to the viewer, then there is no problem. It is also important to note that tattoos are common only in big cities, in rural areas people may be worried and associate you with evil things.

Studies have shown that tattoos are not linked to any lower wages or employment discrimination. In fact, tattoos are most common in blue-collar jobs compared to white-collar ones and are seen to be a small boost especially to men. Besides, if every employer is side-eyeing your tattoos then you have an added advantage on the job opportunity over the others for instance, fashion designing. Studies carried earlier showed that about 80 percent of the employers are negative about visible tattoos on employees but this new study found that tattoos have become widely accepted in any workplace.

Jobs For People With Tattoos?

Searching for a job could be hard if you have a visible tattoo. However, this should not scare you too much because there’re still some job opportunities that don’t mind workers with visible tattoos. They include:

IT jobs

If you’re highly skilled and knowledgeable about using the internet and computer, then you can easily secure any type of freelance jobs and no one will mind your appearance

Foodservice industry

In this field what’s of importance is your skills and ability but not having visible tattoos

It is the most common job for people with tattoos as most of them are driving lovers.

Other areas which you might prefer are the beauty industry, marketing, being an artist, or rather working in the entertainment industry.

What Jobs Don’t Allow Tattoos?

There are some jobs that strictly don’t allow tattoos. Thus, it’s important to know them before you decide to ink your body. They are the following.

Healthcare professionals

Many hospitals have a policy which requires tattoos or some piercings to be covered or removed as you will deal directly with patients

Police officers and military

There is a stereotypical connection between tattoos and gangs. Therefore, tattoos are ruled out in this field.

Law firms

The appearance standards in law firms is very strict and thus no visible tattoo can be allowed

Administrative receptionist and assistants

This field don’t allow excessive make-up, hair color, and others. Thus, it is safe to assume that they don’t tolerate tattoos

Financial institutions and banks

Even though tattoos have nothing to do with your ability to handle the job, it’s still unprofessional in this field. The other job is teaching apart from private schools.

What High Paying Jobs Allow Tattoos?

Tattoos are taking the world like a storm. However, at times it can make you not so desirable if the viewers don’t appreciate it. But this should not discourage you because there are certain high paying jobs that don’t mind tattoos existing. Explore them for your preference.

• (Average annual salary of $43180) If you have ever spent some time with a chef, chances are that he or she has some tattoos. It is so common that the authors wrote a book called knives and ink about chefs and stories behind their tattoos. Although some restaurants had policies not to hire chefs with tattoos, most of them have been revised.
• (Average annual salary of $34070) This is a creative career and thus having a tattoo isn’t a problem. Furthermore, there is a blog post written after the author noticed the increased number of photographers with visible tattoos
• CEO. (Average annual salary of $103950) If you own your own company, you can dress pretty much as you feel like. There are well-known CEOs who embrace tattoos.
• Fashion designer. (Average annual salary of $65170) This job revolves around art and you can express it even with tattoos. A good example is Marc Jacobs, a famous fashion designer.
• (Average annual salary of $24300) The beauty industry is well known for looking at the best way to enhance your outer appearance. Therefore, tattoos are not uncommon in workplaces.
• Freelance writer. (Average annual salary of $61240) It involves working from home and thus one of the best parts of it is that no one will get to know what you’re wearing
• Personal trainer. (Average annual salary of $38160) Gyms and fitness clubs are generally lenient when it comes to visible tattoos.in fact, the company received attention of late when they advertised to reimburse any employee who tattooed their body with the company’s logo
• The average annual salary is $52720
• Musician. The average salary is $25.14 per hour
• Construction worker or manager. The average annual salary for workers is $32230, for managers is $89300

Is It Unprofessional To Have Tattoos?

In order to answer the question above, it is important to first define what the word “professional” means. According to the MacMillan Dictionary, it’s someone who has skills or a lot of training. So you can conclude that these are people who work in places like schools, banks, hospitals, and other places where employees are required to have formal training. Professional dressing code is required in these places. Therefore, excessive piercings and tattoos are improper. If employees are required to be representing a reputable business, then their appearance is demanding to match that business and excessive tattoos don’t display the image of a professional individual. Finally, it’s left to the business to decide what image their worker will show in the workplace

What Careers Do Not Allow Tattoos?

• Tattoos in this field are strictly out in public schools while in private schools there is a little bit of lenience. The reason why public schools don’t allow them is due to the complaints from the parents about the fear of their children coping the same
• Resorts/ hotels. Especially luxury hotels, they require their front office staff to be tattoo and ink-free
• Financial institutions. In the banking sector, individuals need to be seen as highly trustworthy. Having a tattoo is seen to be unprofessional and associated with evil
• A career here is a no-brainer and for professionalism justification, you need to have no visible tattoo on your skin
• Military. Although each branch has different rules in place, branches where tattoos are restricted, have none.
• Other career includes health profession.

Do Banks Hire People With Tattoos?

Even though there are no restrictions either during the joining formalities or in the notification, as a professional it is important to ensure that it does not look awkward. Banks are known to be very strict when it comes to be dressing code policy. Therefore, the appearance of your tattoo will matter a lot. It is advisable to cover it. However, if you are asking about the private banks, then it’s important to note that they are unpredictable and they can give you any excuse that suits the employers. If your career is working in the bank then it’s advisable to have your tattoo covered.

Can Lawyers Have Tattoos?

Absolutely yes, you can still be a lawyer with tattoos. Actually, there is no prohibition against them having tattoos. However, there is this risk that some employers, jurors, and clients may not like your tattoo and as a result your career gets some negative impact. Tattoo is still common in this era, especially with the lower socioeconomic class. Therefore, its negative impact will be probably much less compared to that of an elder lawyer. If your heart is to be an attorney and you still love tattoos, just work hard to prepare seriously and your tattoo should not be a big deal if it is covered at the workplace.

Can Policemen Have Tattoos?

Earlier, maybe in years before the year 2000, and even some years later, a tattoo could not be visible in the police profession. In case you had tattoos in those years, then you had to wear long sleeves to hide them. However, each department had its own policies, in others, visible tattoos were not allowed. But a few years ago, that policy was discarded. Now you can be an officer, wear short sleeves, and display your tattoos as long as they’re appealing. It has been an acknowledgment by the world at large that times have evolved and tattoos are now acceptable by the society. If your dream is to be in uniform, then go ahead as you don’t have to hide your tattoo anymore.

Can A Pediatrician Have Tattoos?

As a doctor you are expected to maintain sobriety and decency towards your clothing in order to make the patient comfortable. Many people tend to judge someone with their attires. They expect the doctor to be in light shade colors and formal clothing. Otherwise, the patient won’t tell their history seriously. Furthermore, recent research found that half of all the patients surveyed do prefer their doctors to wear traditional clothing. Thus, many hospitals have increased their measures to meet patient satisfaction. Therefore, it’s recommendable not to have piercings or visible body art. If you really need to have a tattoo, then let it be at someplace where it is not visible while you are in your formal attire.

How Can I Remove My Permanent Tattoo?

While having a tattoo can be fun, at sometimes it can make you regret. The bad thing about permanent tattoos is that they’re permanent. If you need to remove them, here are some tips worth your try.

• Laser removal. It is considered to be painful although it is the most common and preferred. It involves breaking the ink particles using the high-intensity laser beams which penetrate your skin
• Plastic surgery. A skin grafting technique that is less painful and can be used to remove larger tattoos by covering them permanently
• Involves removing the tattoo by rubbing it off with a coarse surface, thus it’s painful
• Sal abrasion. Involves scrubbing the tattoo using a water and salt mixture. The saline solution dissolves slowly to help fade it
• Chemical peels. This treatment is used to reduce the appearance of wrinkles from the skin. It thus affects the top skin layer making it a great way of removing tattoos
• Use makeup to hide it. It’s the easiest, quickest and pain-free way of removing your tattoo

Conclusion

If you are dying to have a tattoo, go ahead and have it. Even though some employers may raise an eyebrow at you, it’s still your body. Also, you don’t really have to work for a company that makes you hide your tattoo. Times are changing and there are other companies where if you have a tattoo it’s actually an added advantage as seen in the article. All you have to do is consider the location of it. Face tattoos are too much thus avoiding them is better. Also, select your design wisely for it not to be offensive. Know when to show them off and when to cover them.