Pitt students don’t think their tattoos will affect their careers

I absolutely love tattoos, and I tend to notice other people’s tattoos quite often. Whenever I see someone with a tattoo, I’m always fascinated with what they chose to get, and what it means to them. It’s like glimpsing into a very private part of someone, but right on the surface.

College students are all in college for one reason – to get an education that will ultimately lead them to a stable career. So why would any college students want to do something that could potentially jeopardize their opportunities? Luckily, it does seem as though tattoos are becoming more widely accepted in the workplace.

I talked to several tatted students here at Pitt to see how they think their futures will be affected by their ink.

Marisa Pescatore, Junior

“I was 18 (a freshman in college) when I got my first tattoo. It wasn’t as much that I was like ‘Oh I want a tattoo, what should I get?’ but more that I wanted these specific tattoos.

“The ‘All Was Well’ tattoo represents every lesson and quote I loved from Harry Potter (since it was the last line of it). It reminds me that even after bad things everything will be okay and there’s always another happy time.

“For my smiley face, I knew I wanted something to represent my grandpa who passed away, and then my grandma told me she draws a smiley face on all my birthday cards because that’s what he always did. So, to honor both of them, I had her smiley face tattooed.

“Growing up having a businessman for a dad, he always preached about not having visible tattoos in the workplace, so I was sure to have mine where they could easily be covered with a watch or bracelet.”

Andrew Farber, Freshman

“I got my tattoo a few weeks after my 18th birthday in June. I wanted to get this particular tattoo because it’s the logo for my favorite band, Rush, and it looks awesome.

“I think having visible tattoos may have some impact on employment, but it seems like society is more accepting of them as a whole.”

Brian Coyne, Sophomore

“I was 19 when I got my first tattoo. I wanted a tattoo that meant something to me, and that could be concealed if I chose to. My tattoo says ‘brothers’ in Irish because I have three brothers and I’m Irish.

“I do not feel as it will impact because it is small and concealable, plus it is meaningful and people should understand that. I do see myself at least extending on my current tattoo to get a Gaelic cross. I also might get one when I have kids to signify something special about them.”

Maggie Kennedy, Sophomore

“I was 18 when I got my first tattoo. I designed it in memory of my friend from high school who committed suicide. Her middle name was Hope and then I put a semi-colon in the stem of the letter P because of the semi-colon project. (A semicolon is used when an author could’ve ended a sentence but chose not to. You are the author and the sentence is your life, etc.)

“I don’t think having a tattoo will impact my career opportunities. I thought about it a lot beforehand, but I knew that mine is incredibly meaningful to me, small, and in a place where I can easily cover it with sleeves, makeup, bracelets, a watch, etc. if necessary.

“I’ve thought about maybe getting a little daisy somewhere because my full name (Marguerite, ‘twas my Great Grandmother’s name, she was French) means daisy in French and it’s my favorite flower.”

Lauren Emily, Sophomore

“I was 21 when I got my first tattoo. I studied abroad in Tokyo for Japanese art and am very passionate about horror and folklore.

“I don’t feel like having a tattoo will impact my employment opportunities at all.

“I want many more tattoos illustrating my passions in life. More Japanese horror and folklore, video games, lyrics. My next one will be from Pokemon.”

Alexandra Reilly, Sophomore

“I got my first tattoo a month after my 18th birthday. My first tattoo was a title of a song of my favorite band. It says ‘something good can work’ and I got it to remind me to be optimistic.

“I do not think having tattoos will impact my job opportunities but that’s because I keep my tattoos in places I can hide (like my hip and thigh).

“I would love to get more tattoos. I’m thinking now about getting some minimalistic renaissance art tattoos.”

Lillian Cannon, Sophomore

“I got my first tattoo when I was 18, and it is snowflakes. I chose it because when my brother and grandmother died (two separate days) it snowed. Their passing were so close it shook me to my core. I got it in remembrance but also to remind me what I do it for. My second was the mountains. It is the bighorn mountains of Wyoming, my home. And it’s also just to remind me where I come from and also that everyone is a part of something bigger.

“I don’t believe my tattoos will impact my career, and I want more tattoos in the future. Some will be words of guidance and others will be more memories.”

Alanah McKelvey, Sophomore

“I was 19 when I got my first tattoo. I decided I wanted the phrase ‘so it goes’ because it is from my favorite book Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, and it holds a lot of personal value to me and also is a tribute to my favorite author.

“I do feel that tattoos can affect my ability to get a job if I have more visible ones, right now this one is on my left rib cage and can easily be concealed with clothing. However, in the future I do wish to get more tattoos, some of which would be visible, and I do worry that it can come across as unprofessional.

“I see myself a getting a few more tattoos in the future, but at the moment I do not have them completely planned out.”

Maggie Koontz, Sophomore

“My first tattoo was the crescent moon and I was 18 years old. My mom (who has 6 tattoos) had the stipulations for my first tattoo that I must be 18 years old, I must want that tattoo consistently for a year, and that I must go to a specific tattoo shop. I got the cat 6 months after that which was April 2015. The daisy was done almost a year later in January 2016.

“I pictured it on my right wrist every day for a year. It has kind of a cliché meaning, but I had gone through a rough patch in my life and this crescent moon means that the moon is still there even though parts of it might be hidden or obscured by the dark. Also, I have always loved the moon especially in its crescent phase. For my cat tattoo, I had seen this drawing and I became obsessed. It is no secret that I absolutely love cats and that my spirit animal is probably a cat. My last tattoo is my daisy. I love daisies; they are my favorite flower. They are very beautiful and I got the daisy tattoo because at that point in my life, I truly felt happy with myself and loved.

“I think that my generation is a lot more open to tattoos so I do not think that my employment will be too impacted by my tattoos. If an employer did really disapprove, I could easily cover them with clothes or tattoo concealer. I am hoping that my field (English Writing) will be relaxed about tattoos in the workplace as opposed to more strict offices.

“I do have plans to get another tattoo of a panther paw with the first two lines of Pursuit by Sylvia Plath so that is in the works.”

Chelsea Flower, Sophomore

“I was 19 when I got my first tattoo. It’s based off of the white lotus pai sho piece from Avatar the Last Airbender (my fav tv show).

“The reason I decided on this design was because Uncle Iroh is a really understanding and wise character. He plays pai sho and is part of the order of the white lotus, which is all about uniting despite differences. It runs off of the idea that we are all human beings, that we’re roots of the same tree, and that separation is an illusion. I got this symbol tattooed on me because I’ve learned a lot about how to live my life from this show, specifically Uncle Iroh and the order of the white lotus. It’s a simple design with a strong message. I was originally worried that I would regret my decision so I waited a year, but so far I have no regrets. I don’t think I ever will because when I look back on it I can appreciate how important it was to me at this time in my life.

“Because my tattoo is on the back of my neck and easy to hide I don’t think it will affect any employment opportunities.

“I would like to get a tattoo sleeve on my wrist someday when the professional world becomes more accepting, which is slowly happening.”

Kayla Carr, Junior

 
“I was 18 when I got my first tattoo—my mom never disapproved of tattoos but just asked that we wait till we were 18 so we couldn’t blame anything on her if we would regret them. My first one was the Namaste with the om on my foot. All my tattoos have special meanings to me so none of them were really spontaneous or regretted.

“I’m not sure if it will affect my future career opportunities. I wanted to work for Disney for a period of time but I know they’re really strict with their tattoo policy so I don’t think that’ll happen but I think tattoos are becoming more accepted these days so hopefully they won’t give me any problems. I think they’re art and don’t make you a bad person.

“I plan on getting more. I really want my ribs done & have been on a mini tattoo kick & I’d like to get one behind my ear and the inside of my finger.”