My best friend is in a tattooing apprentice shop she pays about a grand on the first of every month what should she be doing and what should they be teaching her since i have been the only person she has actually started working on and it seems as if they only have her pick up food and let the other artist use her car. IM the only one that she does tattoos on so far since she has been my best friend for almost 5yrs. shouldnt someone be over her shoulder while she does a tattoo. ( tattoo artist what do you do when you have an apprentice thanks).
I just wanna make sure my friend doesnt get screwed.
2007-03-01 17:52:14 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Beauty & Style ➔ Skin & Body ➔ Tattoos
well she is supposed to do that for i believe 4 months. and it really doesnt look like she is learning anything, nor is she in a contract. mostly what they have her do is clean the bathrooms and clean the shop and the preping of the equipment cleaning and baking the tubes. setting up the rooms but i just dont see them traing her much with the gun even when i go in i let her do something i want but i like her kinda do her own thing but rarely does a artist come over her shoulder and say something or guide her in any direction unless i say there is something wrong with the gun and she agrees then someone looks at the gun and tweaks it.
2007-03-02 00:12:48 · update #1
yes she is taking blood born pathogens and first aid safety, but still when im there im getting a tattoo and she is doing it but no one is over her shoulder guiding her in the right direction like she needs. cant really ask around out her in michigan the closest places are owned by the same people.
2007-03-02 18:47:20 · update #2
$1000/month for how many months? Does she have a contract? Does it not explain what is in the contract? An apprenticeship has to last at least a year - is she going to pay 12K or more?? Crazy.
She should be observed while tattooing, of course.
The days of free apprenticeships are quickly dwindling. Many shops that grant apprenticeships do not necessarily have room for another artist so there is no contract of paying back the education through a guarantee of working in the studio for a pre-determined amount of time. If someone is paying to learn the art of tattooing, it is certainly not customary to treat them as slave labor.
I hope she is learning something.
2007-03-01 23:43:21 · answer #1 · answered by tatt_bratt 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I think your friend is getting screwed. As much as free apprenticeships are gettign rare, it seems a bit much that she should be paying so much a month. I got lucky and mine was free. But free doesnt always mean bad and paying so much doesnt always mean good. The scratcher studio down the street charges about as much and they cant teach a monkey. I Would worry that she doesnt have a contract and is paying that much. I was offered a contract and turned it down in favour of the free studio because i didnt think the contract was written in my best interests. Most apprentices wont get to do much in their first months other than eyes open and mouth shut. Chores is just soemthing we all had to do at one time, i still get to take trash and do tubes even though not an apprentice im just the "office junior".
I would worry more about the quality of teaching she is getting. If no one is watching her then how is she learning. IF she isnt being watched then she cant be told about any bad habits she might be developing or otherwise. I agree with brats idea about going round some of the other shops and covertly asking how much they charge and what they do. However, don't automatically write off her mentor as an idiot. She may be learning stuff when you arent there. Has she taken bloodborne pathogen courses and first aid?? Most states require this by law, even for an apprentice. IF the shop isnt advising her on this stuff then i would be more concerned. Proper sterile technique needs to be learned before she even touches skin otherwise how will she know if she is contaminating things.
It sounds a little fishy to me, but ask her about whether she feels she is learning. Maybe she needs to talk to her mentors about it and about changning teaching methods. One method might be better than another. I had to change teachers in the course of my apprenticeship because one guy was better at teaching me than who i was "assigned" to.
2007-03-02 01:39:38 · answer #2 · answered by Deb P 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Most places i know of don't make you pay or at least not THAT much. she should ask around the local tattoo community & see if thats going rate. also pick up some of that fake skin on ebay & practice on that
2007-03-01 23:14:15 · answer #3 · answered by kat.blue 2 · 0⤊ 4⤋