Very visible tattoos and Admissions/Job Market

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ahellwig

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I searched the forums and only found people asking about some arm tattoos and leg tattoos and whether or not that was acceptable.

I was wondering if having full sleeves and my hands tattooed (and most of the rest of my body, but only my arms and hands are visible in a t shirt and pants).

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Most policies I have seen in clinics (at least for techs) do not allow tattoos to be visible. That would mean that every inch would have to be covered. Whether a hiring manager or an ad com would be prejudiced to heavy body art? I'd say that's more on and individual basis. But I'd look into how you can cover it up.
 
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Agreed with rocky. It's going to depend on the owner/hiring manager of the clinic, but most seem to prefer that tattoos are not visible during work hours--especially when with clients. That being said, policies do definitely differ; I would call or email and ask clinics directly.

As for vet school, it's probably not a HUGE deal for your didactic years (I know of at least a couple classmates with tattoos), but I would wager that it's probably a big no-no during clinics and interviews. It's just hard to say because while I know some vets and vet students who do have tattoos and do just fine, I think they tend to be smaller and not so much the sleeve style, so it's relatively easy to cover them up. I would imagine that it would be harder with sleeves... but I also don't have any tattoos and don't know much about them, so I could be wrong.:shrug:
Sleeves aren't that hard to cover up, just wear long sleeves. Most hospitals I've worked at/been to, the doctors generally wear long sleeves anyway. The hand tattoos could be more of an issue. I'm not saying it's impossible, but there are certainly a lot of hospitals that wouldn't hire someone with tattoos that could not be covered.
 
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This was a tech, not a doctor, but I started work as a tech in a pretty conservative part of the country. One of the techs would die chunks of her hair odd colors and it normally received odd looks, but no comments. (And the head tech and one of the other long time staff died their hair bright red and blond and orange to cover gray, but to the point it was tough to claim natural colors.)

Then she got some facial piercings and was told she could not wear them to work, but she would bargain and just ask to stay in back while they healed. Of course, we were busy, so she would be dealing with clients anyway. It took a few months, but since no clients complained and she even got a few compliments, they let her do it.

During this whole time her tattoos also grew. She had one that stuck past her long sleeves a little on one hand. She wore wrist bands in an attempt to cover it most of the time. Then she got one that moved up the side of her neck. She wore turtlenecks for a bit. She tried heavy cover up, but then she got comments that it looked like she had an obvious hickey on the side of her neck. That earned disapproval.

They openly debated firing her over the transgressions of dress code, but she really was a good tech and people really liked her. She headed off to school for some advance training just before I left town. She has been hired back since and started a rescue and low cost community service vaccine/ spay neuter movement with a few vets within town. I have seen comments about her purple hair or a new tattoo, but her record with the clients and animals speaks volumes before people ever see her. But, she took years of earning the trust and good will and slowly added to her collection. She would never have been hired here looking like that in the first place. (I thought she was cute, not my call.)
 
A sleeve can be covered up, but hand tattoos are definitely going to be a problem. You could probably get by with a small wrist tattoo (I have one, but that's also because I don't work directly with clients very often in my specialty) that could be covered with a watch, but hands? I hate to say it, but that will indeed limit your hireability.

Again, as I've said in other threads, it's not necessarily right to judge someone based on body modification, but people will - it's a fact of life. We can all run around saying "Oh! How horrible and judgmental, its how I express myself, blah blah!" and it may well be, but it's still a fact. I say this as someone who currently has and has had various mods over the years, but I've always had to be cognizant of where I am in my career and who I'm working for.
 
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There are a few concealers that will cover tats thoroughly (glamoflauge comes to mind) but since it is your hands, that's probably not a viable option.
 
There are a few concealers that will cover tats thoroughly (glamoflauge comes to mind) but since it is your hands, that's probably not a viable option.
I think dermablend works well to conver tattoos, but it's not really practical for use on your hands in a field where you wash your hands 20 times a day.
 
Agreed with rocky. It's going to depend on the owner/hiring manager of the clinic, but most seem to prefer that tattoos are not visible during work hours--especially when with clients. That being said, policies do definitely differ; I would call or email and ask clinics directly.

As for vet school, it's probably not a HUGE deal for your didactic years (I know of at least a couple classmates with tattoos), but I would wager that it's probably a big no-no during clinics and interviews. It's just hard to say because while I know some vets and vet students who do have tattoos and do just fine, I think they tend to be smaller and not so much the sleeve style, so it's relatively easy to cover them up. I would imagine that it would be harder with sleeves... but I also don't have any tattoos and don't know much about them, so I could be wrong.:shrug:
We have people with tattoos behind their ears and on their forearms that don't have to cover them in the clinic.
 
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I think dermablend works well to conver tattoos, but it's not really practical for use on your hands in a field where you wash your hands 20 times a day.

Maybe you could find the perfect setting spray by doing that? Keeps your concealer perfect while keeping your hands clean!


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I actually love the way sleeves look though, but i would be too afraid to have them/worried it would hurt my admissions/job prospects, but kudos to you for being brave enough to have them!
 
I think response to the tattoos will also vary depending on where you live. Like you may have more trouble getting away with it in the deep south but not be judged as much in say, Southern California.
 
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I think response to the tattoos will also vary depending on where you live. Like you may have more trouble getting away with it in the deep south but not be judged as much in say, Southern California.

I definitely agree with this. Tattoos or odd colored hair did not seem to be an issue at Penn (knew people who had blue hair when they interviewed and several classmates had pink/purple/blue hair during clinical year as well as piercings and tattoos (although I do think most people's tattoos were somewhat covered).

And where I'm at now for my internship seems pretty tolerant. Many of our techs have piercings/tattoos and odd hair colors. Some have their tattoos covered, but others have forearm/wrist tattoos that aren't covered. Same with many of our doctors in regards to wrist/forearm tattoos. Some of our ECC doctors have tattoos along the lines of partial sleeves, so they have those covered, but it doesn't seem to be a huge issue here.

That being said, I'm in the process of trying to find someone design a tattoo or two for me and although I don't judge anyone for it, I will probably still get them in areas I can cover for the most part to avoid any issues in the future.
 
I guess my question is....when you say you have hand tattoos, are they an extension of a sleeve, or do you have words on them or letters spelling a word on your knuckles? Depending on what exactly we're talking about here, you may get very different reactions from employers.
Maybe you could find the perfect setting spray by doing that? Keeps your concealer perfect while keeping your hands clean!


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So there are setting sprays and concealers out there that can withstand a gentle handwashing with gentle soap. Heck, I use Urban Decay All-Nighter and I notice removing my face makeup with my normal face wash takes longer. Even quality matte liquid lipsticks in skin-toned shades (or a mix of shades, whatever works) can serve as a tough concealer, and are more likely to be good with a lot of movement. I have products in my 'toolbox' that are extremely difficult to remove unless I use baby oil. I just imagine this costing quite a lot of money over one's professional career, considering how often you'd have to reapply...perhaps near the cost of tattoo removal/fading depending on where you got it done. Plus, you'd be SOL when you had to scrub in.

If anything, discussing your situation with your employer will do you better than trying to hide them right off the bat and have it slip out as a surprise later. If you are able to hide them and agree to do so, I don't see it being a problem. I just recommend against keeping it a secret in a profession where you have a lot of handwashing and potentially not a few minutes to run and reapply your concealer before your boss sees your hands.

I worked for a company that is notoriously strict when it comes to appearance. Plenty of people covered tattoos every single day and chose wardrobe that covered them as well. It can be done.
 
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I definitely agree with this. Tattoos or odd colored hair did not seem to be an issue at Penn (knew people who had blue hair when they interviewed and several classmates had pink/purple/blue hair during clinical year as well as piercings and tattoos (although I do think most people's tattoos were somewhat covered).

And where I'm at now for my internship seems pretty tolerant. Many of our techs have piercings/tattoos and odd hair colors. Some have their tattoos covered, but others have forearm/wrist tattoos that aren't covered. Same with many of our doctors in regards to wrist/forearm tattoos. Some of our ECC doctors have tattoos along the lines of partial sleeves, so they have those covered, but it doesn't seem to be a huge issue here.

That being said, I'm in the process of trying to find someone design a tattoo or two for me and although I don't judge anyone for it, I will probably still get them in areas I can cover for the most part to avoid any issues in the future.
I currently have pink, purple & blue hair and I have lots of tattoos including a sleeve in process. A few years ago Penn had a behavior resident that had bright pink hair and a half sleeve.
 
I also just want to add to everyone that I live in a VERY "progressive" part of the country (Boulder, Colorado) and tattoos are generally acceptable. For example, the surgeon that fixed my carpal tunnel had sleeve tattoos but I had never seen anyone as a professional with hand tattoos. I do not have much that extends on to my hands as of yet, although I did plan on getting complete geometric work on the left and a Japanese Karashishi on my right hand to tie into the koi and chrysanthemum on my arm and the Namakubi (severed head) on my bicep. I am now thinking to stop putting any more work further down on to my hands (Most of what I have can be covered by long, long sleeves).
I feel I will have to deal with patients on a regular basis, since my goal is to work in small animal soft tissue surgery or equine orthopedic surgery. I will just stop adding on to what is visible and focus the rest of my work on a covered part of my body such as my torso or maybe get some more done on my back. Thank you all!
 
I also just want to add to everyone that I live in a VERY "progressive" part of the country (Boulder, Colorado) and tattoos are generally acceptable. For example, the surgeon that fixed my carpal tunnel had sleeve tattoos but I had never seen anyone as a professional with hand tattoos. I do not have much that extends on to my hands as of yet, although I did plan on getting complete geometric work on the left and a Japanese Karashishi on my right hand to tie into the koi and chrysanthemum on my arm and the Namakubi (severed head) on my bicep. I am now thinking to stop putting any more work further down on to my hands (Most of what I have can be covered by long, long sleeves).
I feel I will have to deal with patients on a regular basis, since my goal is to work in small animal soft tissue surgery or equine orthopedic surgery. I will just stop adding on to what is visible and focus the rest of my work on a covered part of my body such as my torso or maybe get some more done on my back. Thank you all!

You may not always live in Boulder. You don't know where you will be for vet school (maybe Ft. Collins, hopefully, right?) and you definitely don't know where you will be for internship or residency if you do want to pursue surgery. I would hold off on the harder to conceal areas until you are done with training and have a job job. Cover every square inch you want otherwise, just plan on pants and at least a t-shirt. And don't do your hands - all other reasons aside, hand tattoos would fade so much faster than the rest of your body given the amount of exposure, it doesn't seem like it would be worth it.

I had a classmate with a tattoo'd wedding band, and I think *that* was fine (possibility of divorce aside).
 
I sorta don't really know what people (who have lots of body work) are expecting when they ask "will it be ok"?

I mean. Common sense. It's human nature to be sorta suspicious of things that are 'different' or 'stand out'. So yeah, you go into an interview - for vet school, for an internship, for a residency, for a job, with a client, whatever - and you have full sleeves and hands covered in ink? Yeah, some people are going to judge you. Is it unfair? Probably. Is it real life? Yeah.

And when you decided to cover yourself in ink, you should have known that and shouldn't be surprised. Is what it is.

Doesn't mean you can't do what you want to do. A couple people have mentioned vet professionals with lots of ink. We had a surgery resident who had full sleeves. So it's doable.

But you shouldn't be surprised when some people react negatively, and so yes, it obviously might negatively influence your opportunities. In the specific case of tattoos I think it's changing gradually as more and more people have them in visible locations - all because the more common it gets the less 'different' it is so the less it triggers that instinctual distrust of 'different'.

It's all nice and pleasant and whatever to say "but that's unfair!!!!" .... but it's life. That's how it works.

I had a classmate with a tattoo'd wedding band

Nifty. That's cool.
 
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One of the students at my school. Many/most techs have visible tats, gauges, you name it. Plenty of residents/vets too have some non-traditional body art/mod/etc. Weird hair, whatever. No one cares.
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