Wheel of Time MUD

Some of you may or not know I am a tattoo artist. Been an artist for quite some time now. Here's the kicker.

When I became a full time tattooador I got a very large very dark tattoo from the edge of my chin to the shirt line of my throat "huge". Now as an artist this is fine and dandy. As a respectable member of society I get less of a welcome. This is all on a first sight basis. Once the please, thankyou and, smiles start, I start getting the questions. "Omg, did that hurt?" Etc. (Yes it hurt...alot) (yes I am tattooed head to foot)

The real reason for this post is what are all of your thoughts on keeping or removing this tattoo.
Keep in mind it's large and dark and will take many sessions and be very painful. On the plus side my secondary career choices won't be limited by a large aggressive looking throat tattoo, also with social fraternity I'm interested in the younger guys are all about it but I get a pretty fat thumbs down from the older bros.

So...Keep it Vs. Lose it. Why or why not

Thanks for your time
The phalz u luv2h8

PS. If you wanna see this tattoo you can check out my FB "Dalephelps3" in my pics (check em out drop a frendy). Also if you wanna check out some of the tattoos I've done you can check there and also my Instagram "Epidermaldesigns" thanks again!

Oh i have three tats, you must be talented.

Memories of my past education/experience as an employment counselor helping people with barriers: old vs young, fat vs thin, ugly/plain vs stunning, short vs tall, visual minority vs caucasian, local accent vs other accent, abled vs disabled, woman vs man, and a bunch I missed. (But of course different parts of the world and different companies have different preferences.) https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/c ... tatest.jsp

For example, I once had a client who was 60+ years old, over weight, disabled and had just graduated out of a college (not university) computer program. So basically his competition was not only against people a third his age but also people with more desirable education than he had. And of course he faced ageism, ableism, etc.

I told him he could look at it in two ways. First, it's a numbers game: hit up as many companies/contacts as possible until he gets a yes. Second, he could turn his 'negatives' into 'pluses' and determine which employers he'd be a better sell to. E.g., what if he did IT for a retirement home where him being older might be seen as a plus, make him more approachable to the residents, etc?

And so my advice to you is my favourite thing to talk about re: employment counselling -- informational interviews.

Informational interviews are where you contact employers and you interview -them- to learn about:
-What skills/experience/schooling/personality traits/etc. they are looking for.
-Importantly find out what their company culture is like.
-Ask if they would recommend getting the tattoo removed. (But as people tend to knee-jerk and deny personal bias,it may be better to ask if they thought you should remove the tatoo to work at -other- companies and/or in the industry in general.)
-Get referrals for companies with cultures that might be more open to tats. (And then interview those companies.)

For instance I've worked at a bank as a computer programmer where it was fairly stiff and formal. At another place I worked at: one employee walked around barefoot, another two employees had installed a working swing in the ceiling beside their cubicles, and another had a beer fridge.

If someone, for example, were to only know of the first place, they might get their tatoos removed. But knowing of the second could make all the difference -- and this requires research for you to identify what employers in your area, in your chosen profession, want and/or consider a dealbreaker.

Finally, maybe one option would be to try and cover it with makeup? (Maybe not -- it looks pretty dark)

Whether or not you have tattoos, are over/under weight, color or your skin..whatever...people will judge you. It's what people do. We all do it.

The only differences are - how often, to what extent and based on what do we do it.

I've got 9 tattoos, on my arms and legs and I work for a business intelligence company. Some look at me with disgust, some have this kind stupid pitiful look when they seem them, others either don't care or think they're cool...

If you like/love the tattoo, if it has some special meaning for you, perhaps even some sentimental value if you got it once you went from "apprentice to master" - then keep it.

In short, I'm all for "don't change becuase of society" and against "change because society 'demands' it from you".

Pretty much all "secondary career choices" you have now or might have in the future, most likely have some companies/jobs that won't mind that tattoo...

I took a look at your FB pics, and the tattoo doesn't look like it's offensive or anything. If people see it and because of it think you're in a gang or something like that...F 'em...

In fact, I'd suggest adding some color to it and "finishing" it

P.S.

Nice work man. Love the Deadpool-Maximum effort tat

I would suggest keeping it, it's not at all offensive! (But then I'm an artist too with a large forearm tattoo and 70% of the people around me are inked so you look very normal to me )

The only reason I would have a tattoo removed is if I myself have changed to the point mentally and emotionally that I find its meaning and appearance unbearable. Here is my biased pros/cons sheet. Feel free to add.

Pros:
1. You -might- get a better job.

Cons:
1. Throat skin, especially the front is extremely prone to sagging, wrinkling and all sorts of horrendous shapes and textures as you grow older. End result might look regrettable as age sets in!
2. You might then be judged by how your throat looks!
3. Pain endured for longer than what is necessary.

The world is changing. In 5 years the old-fashioned may no longer be around, new views may be introduced, new trends, new appearance ideals. There maybe 10 of you, tattooed from head to toe, waiting in line for an interview.

Can't get better jobs with phallic tattoos.

<3 Phalz