Real experiences with tattoos/piercings & jobs?

Question

We've all seen the unrequested responses: "Get a tattoo/piercing and you'll never make more than $15k/year", "You'll never be able to show your work at work", "Show it & you'll never get another raise", etc.

Does anyone have any actual experience with this? Have you or anyone you know and/or followed closely had *documentable* job problems? If so, what happened? Did you/they see if the response was legal? If not, did you pursue legal action or talk with anyone human resources related? If it was legal, how was it dealt with? What else was done? If comfortable with providing the details, what is your job background, age & general area of the world you live in?

Please, no "friend of a friend" stories. I'm also more curious about real jobs & employment, not summer slavewage things like McDonald's or other generally non-career jobs.

My answer: I've worked in an unusual area of the country (SF bay area) and in industries that tended to have the more unusual folks anyhow - high tech and university. My experience of near total acceptance could/should be considered a statistical anomaly.

Even out in my social circles (which collectively tend to have more body mods than "normal"), the reaction has been almost universally positive. One or two folks mentioned the "what will it look like at 80" bit, but in at least one case the person was a sun worshiper and already looked 70+ at the age of 50 or so.

Answer 1

Here we go. I work for a placement agency placing people in IT and Business jobs (recruiter). My boss lives and works in St. Louis, so she only sees me about 5 or 6 times a year. The last time she was in, she pulled me to the side and told me that I needed to take my nose ring (actually a nostril screw, BARELY noticable) out at work, and I needed to make sure that I keep my tattoos covered up. I looked at her like she was crazy, because she said that it was because we cannot let the people that we hire think that they can have their noses pierced. THEY ARE ALL FROM INDIA! Almost every single woman that we place has her nose pierced!! So I told her that it was discrimination. Then about 3 weeks later, a person that we were putting out to temp came in with her nose, lip, eyebrow, tongue pierced, and tattoos all over her hands, and I called corporate and asked them what I should tell her, and they said nothing, because where we were sending her to work was OK with those things........So I called my boss and threatened to file a suit from her, and I am still waiting to hear back. If she still says that I can't be comfortable with my mods at work, then I am outta here. 12$ an hour is not enough pay for me to be descriminated against, and I really can't think of any amount of money that that would be OK for.

Answer 2

I've never had problems with jobs and having mods and none of my friends have had issues either and a good amount of them are med students, lawyers, engineers and computer geeks

I have two jobs, one being a piercer and obviously no one cares there. But my other job is to be an office assistant for a marketing company and no one there minds that I look a little different. I make a combined $35,000. My man works at a computer programmer making $120,000+ a year and has visible tattoos on his arms and a piercing (a labret) and no one has ever said anything to him. I think there are a handful of people who are just lucky. Many of my friends have very good jobs and all they have to do it keep most mods covered but have equal and fair opportunities.

I'm 20, he's 26, both have completed some college (him scheduled to get a few degrees by winter), we live in southeast Michigan

Answer 3

It all really does deppend on the area you live in. I have had my eyebrow pierced now fro almost 5 years and have had only 2 bad job expeiences. Both where thebasic summery job types. I found those jobs are more discriminitve towards the "unnatrual" look. I also have my right calf tattoo'd. I am part of managment for a Bass and had no problem getting the job, so lang as i don't flash it off in front of the Big bad bosses. lol. I am also i lisenced Manicurist and have not gotten any negative reactions. but when i lived in south carolina, they wouldn't hire either myself or my ex if they saw out tats and piercing. I think cali is just way more open to the idea.

Answer 4

I do work in a very low paid job (£14,000 a year, which is about $27,600 US), but this is a conscious choice rather than a glass ceiling imposed by my having tattoos (my job involves working with homeless teenagers and families, and it's something I do because I think it's important and very worthwhile, rather than to rake in loads of money). My tattoos have never been an issue in this or any other workplace. If they were, I could always cover them up with clothing, but I've never been asked to.

While I was a student I also used to have several facial piercings, and a summer job in a University. I would have removed them if they'd objected - the summer I went back with a labret ring I was half expecting them to say something... and... they gave me a massive raise! Because I was a good employee, irrespective of what I wore, or what tattoos and piercings I had.

Answer 5

I've never had a problem but then again I JUST got my tattoos and it was after I left the workforce. I can discuss my work experience however in that I have worked in HR, recruiting, and the corporate fashion industry before...

IT Recruiting - I was a headhunter IT positions in Pre-IPO companies and often, the companies that I hired for actually wouldn't hire people if they didn't show up with some "flare" in their outfit. (no 3 piece suits allowed). I also worked when the economy was in it's high time though and everyone was trying to get ahold of any available IT person.

Human Resources - The company I was with was pretty conservative. My manager had a half sleeve on both arms but they were never shown. Due to the rules set out by the company and the type of company that it was, individuals were only allowed to wear earrings, bracelets or necklaces...that's it. If you had a nose ring, you had to cover it with a bandaid or if you had tattoos, you had to cover them with clothes.

Fashion industry - This was the most liberal and the most fun out of all the companies that I worked at. Regular apparel was just jeans or something casual was the only requirement. Because it was a fashion company...most usually looked like a fashion plate going to work. In terms of body mods though. My original manager had her lip pierced and there were some coworkers that had their noses and/or eyebrows and such pierced. Tattoos were not always as visible though. People definately had them but often, they were either more discreet or smaller ones...there were those that had tattoos though...but it wasn't a big deal. Work style, ethic and how good you are mattered more than body mods. Plus...it's the fashion world..wouldn't be the same without some flare there. My close friend and immediate coworker there used to always wear a kilt with combat boots and had a custom tattooed flame coming up from his feet....it was funny...we used to be able to tell what position people were in based on how outlandish they were dressed or if they had body mods. Didn't like the job in the end but loved my coworkers.

In all 3 companies, there were no legal matters that ever came up over something like this. It was usually stated in the company policy that you can or cannot have or do this and that. Because of that, the employees knew the company policy and such prior to working there and so it never really came up. The only incident that I know that we ran into was that one receptionist had her nose pierced when I was in HR and the company doesn't allow it if she wants to work there. She knew this prior to working there and so we told her it was fine if she just keeps a stud there but that she needs to wear a bandaid over it so that you can't see it. If you also want to look at it from this standpoint...if an individual knew the company policy prior to working there, they cannot sue because it's not discrimination, it's a dress code or appearance code for the company that was already there before they started working there.

So that's my experience with it all....

hmm my stats:
29
SF Bay Area - recruiting position in Silicon Valley
HR and Fashion positions in San Francisco

Answer 6

I make around 20k a year in a sales job and I'm 23 in our handbook it says no piercings other then ears and there is a two hole max on that also no visable tattoos. It's funny because I protest a little by leaving in my nose ring and tongue ring but the second the DM comes in I'm rushing to pull out the nose ring so he doesn't see it because I will be fired, I've got multiple warnings. Boo work :(

I'm just assuming about further employment, I am going to teach kindergarden in the future, I wonder if there is any info about hiring in teachers with tattoos, I've never had a teacher with one...

Answer 7

My husband has a "Harley Davidson" tattoo and he did have a piercing but took it out because he wanted to not because he had to. He has a great job. Lots of the other men he works with are tattooed also.

Answer 8

I work at the #1 corporate lawfirm in the state of Michigan and I just got a sleeve on Saturday. I just emailed HR today about it and told them it was to cover up a dog attack. They told me that as long as it wasn't overly noticeable and didn't cause a distraction, it won't be a problem. I see a kid who deliever our interoffice mail who's in a band on the side and this guys has tats you can actually see fully. No one bothers him.

But when I had piercings years ago, on interviews (had to keep them in because they were new), I was always told those were going to have to come out.

Answer 9

My 'day' job is in health care (ambulance), and I've never had a problem. My uniform shirt covers most of my tats (for now) but I do have visible piercings.

I make way more than 15k/year, and I'm still at the low end of the payscale!

Answer 10

i make well over $15,000 a year and i have tattoos. some people at work love them and a couple don't. where i work raises are across the board so if i didn't get a raise then nobody else would either. my tattoos don't show at work just because i tend to wear shoes and a shirt when i'm here but about half of the people here have seen my tattoos and there are a couple of guys who have forearm tattoos and nobody says anything negative about them.
i work in a hospital as a flight coordinator
i'm 25
i live in louisiana.