HELP-- Share Your Experiences??

Hi-- I am looking to get a small-ish tattoo on my inner wrist. I am now in college, and have two other easily covered tats (one on my upper back, one around my hip.) I would love to get something more visible, but in case I end up at a job where it's preferred that there are no obvious tattoos, I just want to be sure I don't have any regrets. I need to hear about other people's experiences with visible tattoos in "professional" environments (aka, office or retail jobs and the like), positive or negative. Thanks so much!

Mia...if you have any doubts whatsoever ...DON"T GET TATTOOED! Although its pitiful, there are still people in this world who think the worst automatically when they see a tattoo, and some of those people are the ones in position to hire or decline to hire you. Personally I would never work for anyone who was so small and close minded...there are lots of jobs out there where being tattooed doesn't make a bit of difference. A sad story but true...a girl came in last year and got a very small tasteful tattoo on her wrist...when her boss saw it she was fired immediately after being a model employee for over 8 YEARS!! Just think it over carefully kiddo!

Hi Mia, Unsure what profession you're in (I imagine visible tattoos on a Marine Biologist would be more acceptable than on a CPA) so I'll give you my experiences. Without going into too much detail, I handle financial affairs for a wide variety of people, many of whom are tattooed, but most of whom are not. My clients expect me to dress well, drive an expensive car, have a prestigious office, classy personal assistant etc etc. If I don't, they (subconciously) think that either they're getting short-changed or that I'm not doing well financially (and hence not able to get the best result for them) and I lose business. So I wear work clothing that presents the "Salute the Suit" appearance that they expect and we're all happy. Some that I deal with on a social/sporting level are aware of my tattoos and some dig them and have gone under the needle as a result, but that's not a professional thing. To sum up: If your profession doesn't require much interaction with the general public, then visible tattoos are a matter between you and your coworkers then you can afford to be militant about personal freedoms. If you deal with the public, you'll get tired of the same comments, prejudices, explanations very quickly. It's easy to prove yourself to a group of coworkers once...not so easy to do it over & over again on an individual basis with the public.

I work for a large, family-oriented corporation. Their policy on tattoos is that anything is acceptable if it can be sufficiently covered by clothing and/or makeup, and I would assume that policy to be pretty standard thoughout the business community. So really, I think you need to decide what's more important to you- would the tattoo be able to be/would you be willing to make sure your tattoo is being covered at all times while on the clock, or would you rather not worry about it? That should be the deciding factor in the placement of your tattoo.