Potentially getting a tattoo

[BHX]

Yeah, I'm almost 33 and the only tattoo I've ever entertained was some sort of tattoo that would be on my left shoulder that represented my love for my wife and son. Other than that I wouldn't waste my time or money on a tattoo.

[Disch]

@Cheraphy:

I certainly think that's the right move, but I also don't want to bully you.

I might have dominated this thread with the "don't do it" side of the coin, maybe you should talk to someone else for the "do it" side of the coin.

You said you hang out with a lot of people who have tattoos. Ask them for their opinion and/or their reasons for getting a tattoo.


In the end it's your decision. Just don't make the decision rashly.

[Stewbond]

Cheraphy wrote:

I'm probably not going to get one after reading this thread. Specifically this;

disch wrote:
This scares me. It makes it sound like this is just a teenage fantasy you haven't shed yet. You will have very few of these left (if any at all) when you're in your 30s.

I wouldn't say that individuals shed all teenage fantasies. If I had gotten a tattoo as a teenager, I'm trying to think of what would have been my choices: Bass clef (tuba/bass guitar), propeller/wings (pilot's license), or maybe an anchor (naval reserves).

Being 29 now, I would not have regretted any of those choices.

When I see tattoo'd equations, I usually see the quadratic formula, or the basic limit equation which defines a derivative. Those are usually something that you grow out of. Once you work with educated people, the equations are just big and not elegant. They show you at a time when you were learning fundamentals and were star-struck by big formulas.

A lambda equation wouldn't be bad, but I'd recommend going simple (like a Pi symbol or unit circle) or going all out with maxwell's equations. These are things that are more important than finding the root of a quadratic.

[3hM2Nwbp]

Just to inject...tattoos aren't as "permanent" as the gloom and doom crowd coerces everyone to believe. Dark blue or black tattoos are generally removable with zero scarring and minimal pain nowadays. Read up on it ( http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tattoo_removal )

Never get one and live with the 'what if' or go for it and change your mind later. Personally, I feel that the regret of 'what if' vastly outweighs the things you can look back on and say "yeah, that was stupid".

Being borderline assertive-agressive makes me a pro-tattoo guy more or less. Ink is the first thing an employer sees before half crushing their hand in the firmest handshake of his life. Throwing off an alpha-wolf aura with the skills to back it up has landed me several positions of leadership in the manufacturing and production* industries.

Best wishes in anything you decide.


...wait is it 'scaring' or 'scarring'? I'm leaning toward the latter.

**on professionalism: it all depends on your context. I would sooner trust someone with ink to be the one welding together natural gas pipelines than someone in a suit and tie. From my experience (8 years) suits and ties mean that a candidate is trying to dress to compensate for their lack of skill and experience. I guess what I'm getting at is that I have seen vastly better results with candidates with ink rather than suits. By all means though, the suits can keep their office jobs.

[Disch]

You and I are very different people, Luc Lieber. =)

Personally, I feel that the regret of 'what if' vastly outweighs the things you can look back on and say "yeah, that was stupid".

I'm just the opposite. Poor decisions I've made in the past haunt me for years (even stupid things that don't matter). I practically never wonder "what if".

Besides... I can't imagine "what if I got a tattoo when I was younger?" as being a question many people ask themselves. And even if they do, I doubt it's something many of them regret not doing.

Ink is the first thing an employer sees before half crushing their hand in the firmest handshake of his life. Throwing off an alpha-wolf aura

No offense, but this made me want to vomit.

on professionalism: it all depends on your context.

I agree with this paragraph completely. Well said.

My claim of professionalism was too general. I meant it in the business/office/"white collar" sense. You're right -- for craftsmen and more artistic jobs it's a different story.

[NoXzema]

I regret *not* getting a tattoo earlier in my life as I feel like I haven't lived life enough.
Regret itself is also a mindset. Some people feel no regrets about anything they've ever done because they think it doesn't matter. I'm probably closer to that pool actually.
Living a life where everything you do is drowned by fear of potential regret or consequence is a boring life.

[Cheraphy]

Some people feel no regrets about anything they've ever done

Did you know that SSRIs (anti-psychotic, most often prescribed for Bi-polar and Schizophrenia) sometimes have the side effect of emotional numbing?

[NoXzema]

Lack of regret can also be logically deduced. There's no reason to dwell on the past as you cannot change the past. You can learn from the past but hating yourself or worrying about something that you cannot change is pointless.

Also, if you're trying to be an asshole in that statement, well done.

[Cheraphy]

Uh, no actually I wasn't. I brought it up because it's something I've personally dealt with.

Sorry for coming across that way, though O:

[Disch]

I regret *not* getting a tattoo earlier in my life as I feel like I haven't lived life enough.

How does having a tattoo let you "live life more"? What can you do with a tattoo that you can't without one?

I'm not trying to be a smartass, I'm genuinely curious.

[BHX]

Disch wrote:

I meant it in the business/office/"white collar" sense. You're right -- for craftsmen and more artistic jobs it's a different story.

That just isn't true anymore. Tattoos are no longer a taboo thing and quite a few people have tattoos that are completely visible in business/office/"white collar" positions.

Though, I agree with you; having one doesn't get you an alpha-wolf aura, ... if that was the case every idiot in the world would be getting one to improve their chances of getting jobs they aren't qualified for otherwise.

Around my city it isn't uncommon to see those in medical, legal, education, etc. have one. My son's teacher has a fairly large tattoo on her ankle (and she always wears dresses), a couple of nurses here have massive tattoo sleeves, I know a local lawyer that has a tribal tattoo that comes up his neck (to my knowledge has never been asked to cover it up), just for example.

[Disch]

BHX wrote:

That just isn't true anymore. Tattoos are no longer a taboo thing

It's not what it was, but the stigma is still there. Tattoos certainly don't help in getting those kind of jobs.

quite a few people have tattoos that are completely visible in business/office/"white collar" positions.

Yeah, it's like I said before. A lot of people have tattoos. I wouldn't be at all surprised if most people under 40 have one.

[BHX]

Almost all military guys end up getting tattoos. Almost every guy in my father-in-law's unit got a tattoo of USMC on their left arms. Don't know what it is about military and tattoos.

I can totally see this husband and wife being in those kind of jobs.

http://roosterteeth.wikia.com/wiki/Geoff_Ramsey
http://roosterteeth.wikia.com/wiki/Griffon_Ramsey

[NoXzema]

Disch wrote:

How does having a tattoo let you "live life more"? What can you do with a tattoo that you can't without one?

I'm not trying to be a smartass, I'm genuinely curious.

Well, "live life more" is pertaining to preventing yourself from doing things just because others tell you not to. You should be able to think for yourself and judge whether or not something is right or wrong. Getting a tattoo may not be what you consider "right" but what others decide on may be different. Anyways...

You can visually represent something through visual art on your body. That and rings/necklaces are easily stolen.

[Disch]

NoXzema wrote:

Well, "live life more" is pertaining to preventing yourself from doing things just because others tell you not to. You should be able to think for yourself and judge whether or not something is right or wrong.

I agree that it's a personal decision that everyone should make for themselves. And I also agree that nobody should or shouldn't get a tattoo solely on the advice of others.

=)

BHX wrote:

Don't know what it is about military and tattoos.

Tattoos are the least of my confusion when it comes to that. I can't comprehend the mindset necessary to think that joining the armed forces is a good idea.

[giblit]

I can't comprehend the mindset necessary to think that joining the armed forces is a good idea.

Would you rather no one defend our country?

[Disch]

I shouldn't have mentioned it. I don't want to derail the thread.

Apologies.