Tattoos on teens - opinions pls

[Twisterdog]

... Bills need to be paid, and working for minimum wage is not that swell ... And, that sometimes, people might need to reconsider their 'rights' if they intend to work at something more than minimal wage

I agree with most of what you are saying. I'm not sure I'd hire someone with, as my husband not-so-eloquently likes to put it, "a face that looks like my tackle box." There's a kid working at our local Burger King who has PITBULL tattoed in huge, black, capital Old English letters ... all around his neck. It's scary ... truly.

But, I do also think you are being a bit extreme with the "minimum wage" thing. Thre are not ONLY two paths ... get a tattoo and forever make minimum wage or pass on the tattoo and be a rich professional.

Now, the PITBULL kid is probably never going to get a job as a bank manager or a CPA looking like that, true. But might he someday get a job as a certified auto mechanic making considerably more than minimum wage? Sure. There are a LOT of jobs that pay VERY well, that are not conservative professions. My neighbor probably easily cleared a million dollars last year as a building contractor. He's got two arms full of tattoos. Doubtful I'll EVER make that much money in a year.

I personally got my tattoos where I could easily cover them all up. I worked for a time as an accountant and a financial analyst, VERY consevative fields. I DO see your point, and I agree ... to a point. But there are a LOT of professions where the pay is MUCH more than minimum wage that aren't conservative enough to care about a couple of tattoos. I'm not talking about covering your entire body, or profanity, etc., of course. That's above and beyond.

[Cataholic]

But, I do also think you are being a bit extreme with the "minimum wage" thing. Thre are not ONLY two paths ... get a tattoo and forever make minimum wage or pass on the tattoo and be a rich professional.

Of course not. If only, eh? I guess my point, not so eloquently put, was younger people often are the people working minimum wage. And, by minimum wage, I am not literally limiting it to the state mandated minimum wage. Maybe I should have said lower wage.

Back to younger people, lower waged jobs, and tatoos.....to me, there seems to be a theory of entitlement amongst our population. Their rights vs., if you will, the establishment's rights. The attitude, "well, then, I just won't work for you if I can't wear this/have this hair/have ten tatoos/peircings/fill in the blank". I was just suggesting that how one feels when they enter the work force (and often in a lower paying job than, say, in their 30s or 40s) might not be what they are feeling when mortgages/car payments/medical bills come along, and there they are, with ten tatoos prominently displayed. Or, a face full of tackle (I like that one).

And, for the record, while I might be in a professional field, I sure ain't rich! Even without any tatoos!

[Twisterdog]

Of course not. If only, eh? I guess my point, not so eloquently put, was younger people often are the people working minimum wage. And, by minimum wage, I am not literally limiting to the state mandated minimum wage. Maybe I should have said lower wage.

Back to younger people, lower waged jobs, and tatoos.....to me, there seems to be a theory of entitlement amongst our population. Their rights vs., if you will, the establishment's rights. The attitude, "well, then, I just won't work for you if I can't wear this/have this hair/have ten tatoos/peircings/fill in the blank". I was just suggesting that how one feels when they enter the work force (and often in a lower paying job than, say, in their 30s or 40s) might not be what they are feeling when mortgages/car payments/medical bills come along, and their they are, with ten tatoos prominently displayed. Or, a face full of tackle (I like that one).

And, for the record, while I might be in a professional field, I sure ain't rich! Even without any tatoos!

I know what you are saying, and I agree with you. Especially the attitude of entitlement ... boy, oh boy, I could type several pages worth of rants about that one! But that's a different one of my dozens of soapboxes ....

I do still like all my tattoos, many years later. But, no one knows I have them unless I choose to show them. I got them for ME, they are a private testimony that no one else needs see or know about.

I think therein lies one difference between continuing to like your tattoos for the rest of your life and regretting them someday ... can your cover them up if you need to? Not only for a job interview, but for a funeral, a wedding, professional family photographs? You might not think you'll care, but chances are you will, at some point.