Do Small Hand Tattoos Affect Career Prospects?

Join the discussion
Ask a follow-up here, or get your own question answered by working scientists, mathematicians and engineers — people, not an autocomplete.
Real named experts · corrections over time · the nuance an AI answer skips
Sign up Log in
16 replies · 7K views
binbagsss
Messages
1,291
Reaction score
12
Hi

I am wondering whether tattoos affect chances of jobs getting a phd, that sort of thing?

I'm talking about more subtle small ones, i.e. rather than on top of the hand /fingers, on the under-side of fingers, or side of little finger or thumb

I know the obvious answer is get them somewhere else etc. I'm not asking for that

I'm asking for opinions from personal experience.

Thanks
 
Physics news on Phys.org
zoobyshoe said:


under fingers, not forehead.
 
I doubt it would have any affect at all on whether or not you get accepted into a PhD program, and even less on whether or not you successfully complete the PhD. In most cases offers of admission are based on your application and extended before people in the department know what you look like. And universities tend to be rather open-minded places.

That said, I'm sure you're already aware of how the world works and the potential biases that you'll encounter. You may encounter people who find such tattoos intimidating or disturbing and who won't want to work with you. In most cases you can shrug and say that's their loss, but academia tends to be a small numbers game.
 
I personally prefer to have my tattoos placed in areas that are usually covered by my clothing in work environments. There are many situations where visible face, hands, and arm tattoos will work against you. Small, simple, and discrete- there will be less regret that way.

Anyway, finger tattoos aren't actually all that permanent, the cell turnover rate is so high there that I know many who have only been able to keep theirs for a few years before fading- the same goes for the bottom of the feet. If you really want to try it out, go ahead and get a small one on a finger. Like I said, they don't usually last in that location and can be easily removed at home with inexpensive kits.
 
Can they influence the hiring decision when interviewing for a job, absolutely. Different people have all sorts of random bias and tattoo'd folk aren't a protected class. No one will probably admit to not hiring you do to a tattoo, but it could happen.

I personally don't like them, and think small "joke" tattoos like mustaches on the finger show a level of immaturity and wouldn't hire someone who had one. I also don't like small wrist tattoo's, seeing people who have them as highly influence-able by current fads, also would pass. In fact, I find tattoos on women a complete turn off, and believe it distracts from the natural beauty of the female form. I only say this, because somewhere out there in the world there is a HR guy doing interviews who feels the same way.

Won't have any bearing on your ability to do a phd.
 
Where I have been, in the world of academic biology, they don't seem to matter much.
I have found tattoos to be neither common nor uncommon. Maybe similar to piercings and guys with earrings.

In fields dealing with the public (selling or marketing to biologists), I would guess they are much less common. I would think this is the choice of those hiring people for these jobs since they want to avoid making a bad first impression with the widest swath of the population.

I think it would be good to avoid tattoos that could be offensive or are poorly done. Particularly in medical fields. Besides being ugly, they can be indicative of amateur tattooing which is associated (among medicals) with possible disease exposure.
 
A lot of people associate tattoos with gangs and being in prison. That may be wrong, but that's what a LOT of people think. So think about that. A lot of chefs have tattoos, and they got them when they were in gangs and in prison before they straightened up and got into cooking. Think about it. :biggrin:
 
I've encountered many young to middle-aged (40-60's) in the community at large, in my work environment (including national and international conferences), and in the workplace (most with MS or PhD degrees). I expect that most do not have criminal records, particularly those having to go through extensive background checks. It used to be just those who served in the military, but now it can be anyone. Of the folks I encounter frequently, women with tattoos outnumber men with tattoos. That also applies to piercings on the face (nose, lip, check, . . . ) and colored hair.

I had a pierced ear during university (70s - 80s). I removed it prior to leaving grad school, and didn't bother to reinstate it.
 
Evo said:
A lot of people associate tattoos with gangs and being in prison. That may be wrong, but that's what a LOT of people think. So think about that. A lot of chefs have tattoos, and they got them when they were in gangs and in prison before they straightened up and got into cooking. Think about it. :biggrin:

It's clear to me that a lot of people have a misleading impression about people with tattoos. That being said, I tend to agree that highly visible tattoos (e.g. on the hands, neck, or face) could be problematic in a job interview setting (where first impressions matter). It has no bearing whatsoever on one's ability to complete graduate studies.

I confess that I have a tattoo, but it is located in a part of the body easily hidden by clothing (no, I will not tell you where it is located). And no one will mistake this for a prison or gang tattoo -- it's an equation! :biggrin:
 
My older daughter got a tattoo on her shoulder, has to do with Harry Potter. Very pretty, can't be seen unless she's undressed.

Just think twice about any tattoos or piercings that are in places that are in the open. You do not know how people will react and you cannot tell someone how they can react, that's up to them. You made a choice and they make a choice. Even.
 
I had have tiny tattoo behind my ear, I never have problems with it. My tatt similar with number 22 from here http://inkprofy.com/ear-tattoos/
 
NikaSim said:
I had have tiny tattoo behind my ear, I never have problems with it. My tatt similar with number 22 from here http://inkprofy.com/ear-tattoos/

I saw a gal that had the below image tattoed behind her ear (she worked in a restaurant). I told her that it has been decades since I had organic chemistry and asked what the molecule was. She said the tattoo was LSD. Guess she was really moved by acid.

LSDmolecular.gif
 

Attachments

  • LSDmolecular.gif
    LSDmolecular.gif
    5.2 KB · Views: 2,332
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: StatGuy2000
2milehi said:
I saw a gal that had the below image tattoed behind her ear (she worked in a restaurant). I told her that it has been decades since I had organic chemistry and asked what the molecule was. She said the tattoo was LSD. Guess she was really moved by acid.

View attachment 216821

I'm impressed that she knew the molecular composition of LSD -- I wonder if she in fact had studied chemistry in university.

(Yes, I admit it's possible she might have looked up the composition of it on Google, but maybe I just want to believe she was genuinely curious about the chemical characteristics of LSD)
 
StatGuy2000 said:
I'm impressed that she knew the molecular composition of LSD -- I wonder if she in fact had studied chemistry in university.

(Yes, I admit it's possible she might have looked up the composition of it on Google, but maybe I just want to believe she was genuinely curious about the chemical characteristics of LSD)

I had a neighbor a lambda tattoo. I was disappointed that it wasn't a reference to lambda calculus, but a gay pride thing. I can only imagine her disappointment when going to lamdbatheultimate.org.
 
DavidSnider said:
I had a neighbor a lambda tattoo. I was disappointed that it wasn't a reference to lambda calculus, but a gay pride thing. I can only imagine her disappointment when going to lamdbatheultimate.org.

BTW, I tried but failed to check the link you provided above. After a quick search on Google, here is the correct link:

http://lambda-the-ultimate.org/