How much ink is too much ink?

Kimberley Glascoe

Columnist

We come to college to gain knowledge in the fields we’ve chosen and become employees in the high paying careers we’ve always wanted.

Yet walking around campus, especially during spring, my eyes become glued to the numerous body parts of students adorned with tattoo ink. I love it, but there’s a fine line between professionalism and expression.

We’ve been traveling on the road of selfexpression with no signs of detouring at corporate America. To be hired in a certain industry, we have to appear a certain way. A social stigma regarding tattoos has always been drilled into our heads by society. If you have too many tattoos in the wrong places, you can kiss the job at a Fortune 500 company goodbye, plain and simple.

It’s bad enough that the economy is the way it is and there aren’t as many jobs as we’d like there to be. Employers are only going to pick the most qualified candidate for the job, and even if you fit the bill, having a tattoo that means the world to you might exclude you from being chosen. It is unfortunate that society has subconsciously trained us to stifle our creative voices.

If your plan is to work in a tattoo shop, open your own business or become an entertainer – all professions where self-expression is encouraged – then visible tattoos are fitting.

But what about the law student with the tattoo of a dragon on his neck that even a freshly ironed, white, collared shirt can’t cover? How seriously will potential employers take him? Professional appearance is necessary, but why does it have to be at the cost of our self-expression? People can do their job correctly with a body full of tattoos.

Societal expectations of what a professional should look like shouldn’t weigh in so heavily when it comes to jobs. Many of these expectations have to do with stereotyping. If you have several tattoos, people might identify you with a certain level of class. That’s unreasonable.

I have 11 tattoos of my own, all of which are easy to cover. I’ve been getting tattoos since I was 17, and I’ve learned to compromise when it comes to expression and my future career goals. First impressions are everything, so I live by the motto that if I can cover it up easily, I can get it.

Tattoos are more than ink splattered on our bodies; they are art, they are meaningful, and they are part of our culture. We come from a generation of self-expression. We should be able to feel comfortable in our own skin by having our self-expression and professional side coexist.

Times have changed, and I see more people with good jobs and tattoos that go against the “status quo,” but our glory days will only last so long until we are forced to join the real world. When someone goes in for that interview and has to explain to employers why he chose to get the tattoo of a bird on his forearm or his mother’s name on his neck, even the best explanation, unfortunately, may not be enough to land that position.

Priorities and consequences usually go hand in hand when it comes to tattoos, and the fewer self-created barriers that prevent us from getting the job we want, the easier it will be in the long run to get it.

Decide what’s more important: yourself or your career.