Will having tattoos affect my career?

[Law2Doc]

... I know quite a few people who dress "business casual" to work, where slacks and dress shirts or Polos to work rather than a dress shirt and tie.

Again you "know" these people but you don't know the actual impact on their careers. They may objectively look like they are doing alright, but all it takes is one boss/dean/chairman/partner who prefers people to dress the part and a promotion can go to someone else, someone can get that cushy assignment, better lab, whatever. You really don't know what you aren't seeing behind the scenes. Many things haven't changed in this profession as much as you might think. For every person who looks cool in their very casual golf shirt and boat shoes, there may be missed opportunities you simply don't know about. And honestly it's a big leap from business casual to tattoos for many. If you equate them, you are in the minority in the professional world.

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[Seth Joo]

Again you "know" these people but you don't know the actual impact on their careers. They may objectively look like they are doing alright, but all it takes is one boss/dean/chairman/partner who prefers people to dress the part and a promotion can go to someone else, someone can get that cushy assignment, better lab, whatever. You really don't know what you aren't seeing behind the scenes. Many things haven't changed in this profession as much as you might think. For every person who looks cool in their very casual golf shirt and boat shoes, there may be missed opportunities you simply don't know about. And honestly it's a big leap from business casual to tattoos for many. If you equate them, you are in the minority in the professional world.

Standards of dress have changed, and for women versus men, women have more freedom than men do dress as they please.

And none of the people I know who dress business casual are suffering in any way.

When you are lower on the totem pole it makes sense to keep it more rigid, but people higher on the totem pole can get away with more.

 

[Law2Doc]

Standards of dress have changed, and for women versus men, women have more freedom than men do dress as they please.

And none of the people I know who dress business casual are suffering in any way.

When you are lower on the totem pole it makes sense to keep it more rigid, but people higher on the totem pole can get away with more.

You aren't getting it. You can't know if the people you know are "suffering in any way" because you don't know what their boss is thinking when he doles out promotions, assignments, tenure, committee positions, etc. And we all have bosses, even the people you know "higher in the totem pole", although I agree that if you make it that far you can get away with more. But you maybe won't get that far with a visible tattoo your initial bosses aren't fans of. That's life in the professional world.

Look, we all like to dress casual when we can -- one of the attractions of medicine is scrubs, basically wearing pajamas to work. But anyone career minded is going to have dressier clothes stashed in their office or car because frankly looking professional matters a lot in this career. And tattoos are problematic because you can't toss them into a vending machine when you need to step it up a notch and sit down with the decision makers at your job. You simply don't know what costs people are paying when you look at them and think "they have a tattoo and haven't been fired". They maybe also haven't been promoted, asked to serve on important committees, invited to important gatherings, and so on. Don't be an ostrich with your head in the sand, pretending that what you can't see can't hurt you.

 

[Terry Toma]

When you are lower on the totem pole it makes sense to keep it more rigid, but people higher on the totem pole can get away with more.

...which is why we are advising high school kids to not get tattoos.

 

[Seth Joo]

You aren't getting it. You can't know if the people you know are "suffering in any way" because you don't know what their boss is thinking when he doles out promotions, assignments, tenure, committee positions, etc. And we all have bosses, even the people you know "higher in the totem pole", although I agree that if you make it that far you can get away with more. But you maybe won't get that far with a visible tattoo your initial bosses aren't fans of. That's life in the professional world.

Look, we all like to dress casual when we can -- one of the attractions of medicine is scrubs, basically wearing pajamas to work. But anyone career minded is going to have dressier clothes stashed in their office or car because frankly looking professional matters a lot in this career. And tattoos are problematic because you can't toss them into a vending machine when you need to step it up a notch and sit down with the decision makers at your job. You simply don't know what costs people are paying when you look at them and think "they have a tattoo and haven't been fired". They maybe also haven't been promoted, asked to serve on important committees, invited to important gatherings, and so on. Don't be an ostrich with your head in the sand, pretending that what you can't see can't hurt you.

Well I think the fact that the OMM Fellow was a female was probably a reason she was not reprimanded by the school. She could have easily spun it around.

That being said, when you are low on the totem pole, you got to adhere to the rules, when you are high up you can get away with more.

I definitely get what you are talking about but if you compare the dress code of 2015 to that of say 1960, people over 50 years ago were far more rigid in adhering to the rules.

The OP mentioned he needed to use the Tattoo because he had a serious allergy to a medication, and that would alert any medical staff in any potential emergency, I see no wrong in that situation.

 

[Law2Doc]

Well I think the fact that the OMM Fellow was a female was probably a reason she was not reprimanded by the school. She could have easily spun it around.

That being said, when you are low on the totem pole, you got to adhere to the rules, when you are high up you can get away with more.

I definitely get what you are talking about but if you compare the dress code of 2015 to that of say 1960, people over 50 years ago were far more rigid in adhering to the rules.

The OP mentioned he needed to use the Tattoo because he had a serious allergy to a medication, and that would alert any medical staff in any potential emergency, I see no wrong in that situation.

The OP actually didn't state that his/her question was about a medical tattoo in the original post, just whether there were career implications of getting a tattoo.

 

[Seth Joo]

The OP actually didn't state that his/her question was about a medical tattoo in the original post, just whether there were career implications of getting a tattoo.

Don't get one if you want to become a Doctor any other white collar professional. Get one if you want to be a Hells Angel.

 

[GODmother]

As long as it's not inappropriate and is easy to hide you should be fine.

 

[Grumpy Old Navy Surgeon]

Yes- having a tattoo can affect your career in medicine. In July I attended a board review meeting; there were 300 attendees present; most were young physicians in their late 20's- early 30's; everyone wore short sleeves. There was one tattoo visible- a nurse practitioner. Physicians have some unwritten rules of conduct- not having visible tattoos is one of those rules. Rant and rave about your "rights" to adorn your skin, but a visible tattoo will definitely close many minds- especially when you are applying for a position post-residency.