Wrist tattoo

[Joe.]

I've always wanted a wrist tattoo. I'm so so tempted to get one over the next couple of weeks, however, the design I want is pretty big and would stand out. I'm worried about it affecting my future careers if an employer is against tattoos. Is it a bad idea to get one while I'm still young? Or should I get it on my upper arm? How has having a tattoo affected you guys?

[Devlyn]

I think it's really important to be able to cover your ink with everyday clothing. A tattoo is not always appropriate. You don't want a two hundred dollar tat keeping you from a two hundred thousand dollar a year job. Hugs, Devlyn

[Natkat]

I dont have any tatoos but I am temting to get on on the right arm.

what have kept me back is is that I like japan and I want to go back there at least for a vacation but I also consider to study there a time to learn the languarge more correctly, and in japan tatoos is really big no go who kinda symbol you as a criminal.

[AdamMLP]

I would personally go for a different design on your upper arm.  I wouldn't want to have to make any compromises if I really loved the design and symbolism, including placement, so I would wait until I was older, and by then I reckon that opinions on body modification will have changed dramatically.  It also depends on what sort of jobs you're looking for, things which require uniforms or suits -- that said quite a few of my teachers had obvious tattoos -- might be problematic.  Hands on things not so much.

[democration]

I have a wrist tattoo, but it's small enough that it would be fairly easy to cover with the right kind of wristband. There are always long-sleeved shirts, and skin-toned sleeves made specifically to cover large arm tattoos. It's not impossible to hide it on your wrist or arm. It can be somewhat of a hassle, but if you really want the tattoo in that place specifically it won't be the end of the world. The only real danger zones are your hands and your face. : )

[Frank]

There is a guy at my favourite place to eat, he has ink up and down his arms and large gauges. Normally he doesn't cover it but the last time I saw him, he was wearing long sleeves, had taken the gauges out and greased his hair down. He may have done it for another reason or his employer might have asked him to tone it down. Just a thought. I love tattoos but would probably stick with places easily covered, like upper arms and torso.

[FTMDiaries]

I'm planning a chest tattoo (after I've had top surgery) because the words mean a lot to me and having them on my chest will not affect my employment prospects.

That having been said, I seem to recall that you're in the West Country (ooh arr!) just like I am, so I'll give you a bit of local knowledge. I'm pretty high up in my field; I've been in management since the early 1990s.

• At my current employers, I have a colleague on our management team who has a wrist tattoo. It reads "Live your life". I'll leave you to figure out why she put those particular words in that particular location. She had it done in her lunch hours whilst working for us, and nobody was at all concerned about the fact that she has a tattoo (we were more worried about the reason behind it). She is client-facing so she represents our business to our multi-million pound clients.
• At my previous employers, I hired a man who is covered with tattoos. They can all be hidden by trousers & a long-sleeved shirt, but when he wears short sleeves you can see that he's carrying some serious ink. He wore long sleeves to his interview and we hired him for his skills and experience. When he later pitched up in biker leathers & a T-Shirt showing off his full sleeves, nobody batted an eyelid. Despite that, he did ask me if it was OK for him to show his tattoos in the office - he was worried that we might react negatively. I told him that he's a valued member of our team and his tatts are part of who he is so he should wear them with pride. He's been working there for about 9 years, and was with his previous employers for 14 years. However, it is important to point out that not all employers are as understanding.
• Many people in our neck of the woods have tattoos in visible places. Not many of them are doctors or lawyers, but a few are. To a certain extent, it does depend on what you plan to do for a living.

My advice? You already have a reasonably good idea of what you want to do career-wise. Think about whether you would be required to wear a suit & tie for that job. If so, a wrist tatt might be acceptable because it won't be visible. If you're not required to wear a suit & tie, the dress code is probably casual enough that a small, tasteful tatt wouldn't matter either.

But if it's big and would stand out, you might want to put it on the back burner until you're more established. Your wrist isn't going anywhere.

[Devin87]

I've got a tattoo on my wrist.  Part of it is still visible when I wear a watch (I'd actually like to get that part of it removed to make it smaller when I get the money-- plus I think it'd look better without it).  It hasn't stopped me from getting a job.  It is covered by long sleeves and with most of it covered by my watch even when I wear short sleeves most people don't notice it.  I've had people who've worked with me for several years say to me "YOU HAVE A TATTOO!?" when I mention it, but I've also had people I was training comment on it within minutes of meeting me (always positive comments, but you're not usually going to insult your boss the second you meet them...).

It's not my favorite tattoo design-wise (which is why I want to change it when I get the money), but the placement doesn't bother me much except when I go through my phases where I want to go work at Disney World and know I can't because they don't allow visible tattoos.  But then I remember I don't really like Disney, so it's all good.

[Joe.]

Thanks for the responses guys. I think I'll go for a different design on me upper arm and keep the wrist tattoo for later on in life. I'd also love a chest tattoo but I gotta wait for top surgery before that.

[DriftingCrow]

Thanks for the responses guys. I think I'll go for a different design on me upper arm and keep the wrist tattoo for later on in life. I'd also love a chest tattoo but I gotta wait for top surgery before that.

I think going with the upper arm if you can hide it with a short sleeved shirt is the better option for now, once you're certain of the career you're going into and it's acceptance of tattoos then you could entertain the wrist tattoo though later.

My advice? You already have a reasonably good idea of what you want to do career-wise. Think about whether you would be required to wear a suit & tie for that job. If so, a wrist tatt might be acceptable because it won't be visible. If you're not required to wear a suit & tie, the dress code is probably casual enough that a small, tasteful tatt wouldn't matter either.

To add to this, also remember that some jobs where you'd be wearing a suit and tie all day also have outings where you may need to wear short sleevs. Like, some places have golf outings, picnis, river cruises, etc. Despite it being okay to wear short sleeves then, depending on the atmosphere and how conservative the job is, it might not be okay to show a tattoo there.