if I had known them for years as a competent pilot then found out they had a tattoo I would consider that to be a learning process on my criteria for judging people rather than a cut & dried case of "now I have to fire him"
I've been waiting for someone to say something sensible...
Obviously visible tattoo's are going to have an impact on whether you are seen as suitable for a company/role/position, and one must accept the consequences. I disagree whole heartedly that the 'type' to get a tattoo will not have the qualities of a good/safe pilot. What rubbish. The problem is categorising people into 'types' at all, very lazy and narrow minded but also inevitable, so if you decided to get a tat on your face or hands and thought that it wouldn't affect your employability for a role such as being a pilot, then chances are your not cut out for the job. Of course first impressions count but i don't see the problem if it's coverable in the work environment and therefore not a part of your first/continuing impression whether at interview or on the job.
I think it's a shame that in an industry where your work life has little room for creativity that people are apparently discriminated against for being creative in other ways that are hidden in the work environment (whether you feel that tattoos are creative or not is another issue, but people who have them likely do...).
Possibly being in a younger generation I personally think tattoos can be incredibly interesting, often beautiful, and often shockingly appalling, and know many people with good examples of each... If I look at all of my acquaintances across the board some of them would not make good pilots thats for sure, and others definitely could given the opportunity but this bears no correlation to whether they have tattoos or not (with the exception of those with tats designed for the shock factor). Excuse me for stereotyping here, but to whoever said
I have employed office staff and Heavy Good vehicle drivers for the last 40 years, at any type of interview I always looked for signs, and even if I couldn't see anything I made them aware that things like that would not make me a happy bunny, at one interview a young lady appeared in a nice demure suit with a high buttoned blouse, but I even gave her the talk, imagine my supprise when three weeks later she turned up to work in the depths of winter to reveal a cleavage with a tattoed hand comming out of it and a bare midriff with allsorts of suggestive things pointing to her more personal regions, most of my drivers worked with me for 18+ years and longer, but this particular young lady lasted all of 3.5 weeks.
I thought tattoos were a requisite for HGV drivers? I do agree that tat sounds delightfully awful. What was different about her performance over the first 3 weeks? Was your judge of character at interview really that off?
To those who say they are awful, tacky, rebellious, except your friend ____ who is the exception and has one for a good reason, have you considered that perhaps it's the fact that they are your friend and you know them well enough to know that the stereotype is often way off? example...
Friend of mine, after testicular cancer, got a little squirrel running up one leg and a little squirrel with a nut running down the other. That made some kinda sense.
Whilst being sensitive to your friends situation why does this mean that he needed to get a tattoo about it? perhaps he just wanted one and felt that he needed justification when people ask why so that was the one he chose.... obviously has a sense of humour.
Times will change, more than 1 in 3 young people have tattoos now and as generations change obviously so will attitudes. If I were chief pilot would I hire someone with a tattoo on their neck/face? likely not if they are in a VIP or customer facing role. On their hands/lower forearm? again it would depend on the role. Somewhere hidden? sure if they seemed to have the desired attributes for the job... why not?
Anyway enough on this, you may well disagree but i believe that if you honestly think that by having a tattoo you are a rebel, non conformist, sadist, or have intrinsically poor judgement and safety standards, then you need to get out more. Perhaps true amongst the early tattoo adopters, but far from the truth today, in fact amongst my friends I feel slightly non-conformist by not having one.
A very good friend of mine (house mate) is a tattoo artist so I have been exposed to the tattoo life for some time, and know of the wide spectrum of clients, their stories and their characters. I can tell you that as a career his day rate is equal to that of an experienced pilot, and he has a 3 month waiting list and offers for work that take him all over the world. if only i could draw....
'brits abroad' certainly do tats no favours, skulls, union jacks, bull dogs etc... but if you actually look below the surface of it all some can be incredibly interesting and beautiful to those who enjoy visual art. Is it art? you decide but I think my friend makes more money and gains more respect from his peers that any traditional artists I know, and he's leaving an extensive legacy behind.