As you may have guessed from the title, I have tattoos. Having tattoo’s is frowned upon in some industries, especially in the corporate world.
I see it as a reflection of a person’s creativity and also sometimes have a meaning or story behind them. Now, I am not heavily tattooed and can cover them up with long-sleeved items of clothing. In summer, this becomes slightly problematic and ridiculously hot!
I’ve worked in environments where it was necessary that I covered up my tattoo’s at all times. This also included my ears. They they both have small tunnels. I always thought that this was wrong, but for the sake of professionalism I cooperated and covered up. So far, having tattoo’s has not affected my career as a web designer & developer. Should it? Well, no! I enjoy what I do and produce great work regardless of my tattooed exterior. It is becoming increasingly common for people to get tattoo’s and, even if not told to, feel the need to cover them up.
Tattoo’s are becoming more and more common. Once associated with a lower class of society, and now are everywhere! Rock musicians are quite well-known for their inked exterior. Celebrities with tattoo’s are becoming more and more common as well.
Tattoos are perceived differently depending on the career path you’ve chosen. It tends to be the corporate industries that are less accepting of tattoo’s. Creative professions such as graphic designers, artists and photographers appear to have much more leniency. I’ve found there are certain ways of going about having tattoo’s within the creative industry.
Don’t flaunt them
Firstly, be respectful about it. Having tattoo’s is fine. It can be a great conversation starter. The key is to present yourself in a manner you wish to be perceived. If you are meeting with those who would find tattoo’s on show inappropriate, then it is probably a good idea to cover them up.
Don’t hide them
Now, this is kind of contradicting the above but the point still stands. You shouldn’t feel self-conscious of your tattoo’s. As an individual you should be proud of your appearance. At the end of the day, tattoo’s do not affect the quality of your work or make you a horrible person.
Within reason
Now there is a certain amount of reason involved with tattoo’s. At the end of the day, it’s your choice to have whatever you want, wherever you want. If you have chosen to have tattoos on your face then you’re probably going to have trouble… whatever industry you want to work in, except for a tattoo artist of course. Also, you will have issues if you have potentially offensive tattoo’s.
Final thoughts
Interestingly, I was reading on this subject recently and came across an article on Creative Bloq showing off some tattooed web designers and developers. There was even an appearance from Ryan Carson, CEO of the incredibly popular treehouse education website which teaches people to program.
Tattoo’s may or may not become more and more common, who knows? It’s a culture that is all around us so has to be treated with the same respect as any other.
