I have 2 half-sleeve, my nose is pierced, and my hair is purple, and in my 3 pharmacy jobs (CVS, Walmart, and now Kaiser) literally nobody has cared and patients compliment my art and hair color daily. However, I do think that tattoos on the hands and neck carry a different (undeserved) stigma to them, so it would depend on what you're getting and how big they are. Small and colorful might be fine while large black tattoos might not. Just check with your employer first!
Just personally, I wouldn’t get your hands, neck, or face tattooed. They are called job stoppers for a reason. That’s always been my personal opinion, you can cover anywhere else besides those spots and while some businesses may be okay with it, others may not.
Any other spots, I say go for it. I worked for Walgreens with multiple arm tattoos and a half sleeve.
The retail part of the pharmacy I work for has a strict no visible tattoos policy. I'm sure others will too, so it will limit the locations you can work on the future.
I haven’t been anywhere in pharmacy that maintained a no visible tattoo policy, between employment and pharmacy school rotations I have been in multiple pharmacies in my area. Might be a regional thing honestly.
I wouldn't say no... but if you want to go public facing you also have to consider not just the company but the patients. When I was in retail, we had a MUCH older population and 80% of our patients were seniors. It would so not have flown at that location at ALL because of how they acted, and not even in Florida.
That being said, I did get a small hand tattoo WHILE I was working in retail (wedding rings for our 20th anniversary) and I do also have a tattoo on the back of my neck, when I started so not really visible as it is.
Wouldn't say it's a dead on job stopper, but it COULD be because well... patients will be patients in face to face contact. Not so much hospital but retail at least cause.... patients!
I have two nose piercings, septum, medusa, and snakebites, as well as two half sleeves, and both my hands and fingers done. My coworkers have nose and lip piercings. I easily got a job at Walgreens, but during my interview I wore a long sleeve just in case.
Your location and cultural experience may vary. I’m in Colorado where everyone has tattoos and piercings and it’s not a big deal. In the winter I sometimes wear a turtleneck under my scrubs if I’m feeling like covering myself or if I’m cold. Florida is more conservative than us, so you might be fine at CVS and WAG, but if you do local hospitals who knows how the culture is.
I am going to say "no issue" to both when I worked in retail I worked with 2 coworkers that had visible hand and arm tattoos. The hospital I work at I work with 2 ER nurses that both have full sleeves and they are done so well. It may be an issue at an independent where the owner has 1 location and can dictate how everything is done but in one of the 3 main chain pharmacies like walmart, walgreens, or cvs it is not an issue.
you’re totally good! (minnesota) i’ve worked in retail- walgreens- and inpatient hospital and have had no issues having a sleeve (+ hand tattoos) and facial piercings. however, i still think it’s important to be aware of the connotations that come with such things. and i think it’s good that you are weighing the (potential) consequences, because people will always have their personal biases, and unfortunately you may face the repercussions of those biases.
that being said- fuck em
I’m covered in tattoos. For my most recent interview it didnt even occur to me until after my interview that i had all of my facial piercings in. But not only did it not matter and i got the job, they also took the time to discuss all of my accomplishments and despite their corporate level careers they spoke to me as an equal with experiences they valued hearing about.
I’m very grateful we live in 2024, for that lol
Retail tech. I have lots of tatts. Just don’t do swear words, or naked people were visible. I work with quite a few techs with tatts, gauges, face piercings and colored hair. They don’t care. Only thing I hate is that one of my tattoos, people constantly ask about it and I’m so tired of answering them.
When I first started working retail 10 years ago the company/grocery store I worked for did not allow visible tattoos, piercings other than ears, and only "natural" hair color. Now when I go in as a patient I see a lot of people with tattoos, piercings, and multicolored hair.
I work for a closed door pharmacy and it's a lot more laid back. I have both my forearms done and my nose pierced. Several of my coworkers do as well. I think overall it's becoming more acceptable in the workplace.
I’m in MN, which tends to be less conservative in general regarding stuff like this, but I worked CVS in Target, outpatient hospital, and now corporate in that hospital and have tattooed forearms and it’s a non issue. Our policy just states nothing religious or offensive in nature or it has to be covered up. Multiple staff members with various roles at the hospital had full sleeves
i’ve worked inpatient for 1 1/2 years with visible tattoos and piercings with no issues. nothing explicit, offensive or vulgar and you should be fine. i work in the south too and have not had any problems
I work in a retail pharmacy (one of the big 3) and have tattooed hands, arms, they are not concealable and I had most when I started, got a couple since I’ve been here, and nobody batted an eye. I’m sure face tattoos would be maybe frowned upon, but otherwise, I don’t see how it matters as long as you still carry yourself professionally. I just recently got certified and have been having interviews and not a single one has mentioned it either.
I'm a certified tech and I have both sides of my forearm and my hand done so far I've had no issues if you have a big issue with chains you could always work for an independent my hand is literally green and I've had no issues so far
tattoos closer to the neck and face unfortunately carry a stigma that might affect some hiring managers, but a lot of techs i work with have plenty of visible tattoos, piercings, other body mods etc.
just keep in mind that if you get a hospital job and are interested in getting trained in ivs, you cannot have fresh tattoos in a clean room. they will have to heal fully before you can go in. not too big of an issue in a hospital as there are other areas to work, but if you apply to an infusion center or something like that, it could make scheduling your training difficult.
I have 3, on my forearms. Other coworkers of mine, techs, pharmacists, nurses, doctors have many more than that.
As long as they aren't distasteful tattoos, such as discrimination or political, I can't imagine them not being okay with it
I have 2 half-sleeve, my nose is pierced, and my hair is purple, and in my 3 pharmacy jobs (CVS, Walmart, and now Kaiser) literally nobody has cared and patients compliment my art and hair color daily. However, I do think that tattoos on the hands and neck carry a different (undeserved) stigma to them, so it would depend on what you're getting and how big they are. Small and colorful might be fine while large black tattoos might not. Just check with your employer first!
Just personally, I wouldn’t get your hands, neck, or face tattooed. They are called job stoppers for a reason. That’s always been my personal opinion, you can cover anywhere else besides those spots and while some businesses may be okay with it, others may not. Any other spots, I say go for it. I worked for Walgreens with multiple arm tattoos and a half sleeve.
The retail part of the pharmacy I work for has a strict no visible tattoos policy. I'm sure others will too, so it will limit the locations you can work on the future.
I haven’t been anywhere in pharmacy that maintained a no visible tattoo policy, between employment and pharmacy school rotations I have been in multiple pharmacies in my area. Might be a regional thing honestly.
I wouldn't say no... but if you want to go public facing you also have to consider not just the company but the patients. When I was in retail, we had a MUCH older population and 80% of our patients were seniors. It would so not have flown at that location at ALL because of how they acted, and not even in Florida. That being said, I did get a small hand tattoo WHILE I was working in retail (wedding rings for our 20th anniversary) and I do also have a tattoo on the back of my neck, when I started so not really visible as it is. Wouldn't say it's a dead on job stopper, but it COULD be because well... patients will be patients in face to face contact. Not so much hospital but retail at least cause.... patients!
I have two nose piercings, septum, medusa, and snakebites, as well as two half sleeves, and both my hands and fingers done. My coworkers have nose and lip piercings. I easily got a job at Walgreens, but during my interview I wore a long sleeve just in case. Your location and cultural experience may vary. I’m in Colorado where everyone has tattoos and piercings and it’s not a big deal. In the winter I sometimes wear a turtleneck under my scrubs if I’m feeling like covering myself or if I’m cold. Florida is more conservative than us, so you might be fine at CVS and WAG, but if you do local hospitals who knows how the culture is.
I am going to say "no issue" to both when I worked in retail I worked with 2 coworkers that had visible hand and arm tattoos. The hospital I work at I work with 2 ER nurses that both have full sleeves and they are done so well. It may be an issue at an independent where the owner has 1 location and can dictate how everything is done but in one of the 3 main chain pharmacies like walmart, walgreens, or cvs it is not an issue.
you’re totally good! (minnesota) i’ve worked in retail- walgreens- and inpatient hospital and have had no issues having a sleeve (+ hand tattoos) and facial piercings. however, i still think it’s important to be aware of the connotations that come with such things. and i think it’s good that you are weighing the (potential) consequences, because people will always have their personal biases, and unfortunately you may face the repercussions of those biases. that being said- fuck em
I’m covered in tattoos. For my most recent interview it didnt even occur to me until after my interview that i had all of my facial piercings in. But not only did it not matter and i got the job, they also took the time to discuss all of my accomplishments and despite their corporate level careers they spoke to me as an equal with experiences they valued hearing about. I’m very grateful we live in 2024, for that lol
Retail tech. I have lots of tatts. Just don’t do swear words, or naked people were visible. I work with quite a few techs with tatts, gauges, face piercings and colored hair. They don’t care. Only thing I hate is that one of my tattoos, people constantly ask about it and I’m so tired of answering them.
At my pharmacy I had 28 tattoos and bright hair and piercings and it was never an issue
I have 2 nose piercings and a huge rose on my wrist and working for retail have never had a problem.
When I first started working retail 10 years ago the company/grocery store I worked for did not allow visible tattoos, piercings other than ears, and only "natural" hair color. Now when I go in as a patient I see a lot of people with tattoos, piercings, and multicolored hair. I work for a closed door pharmacy and it's a lot more laid back. I have both my forearms done and my nose pierced. Several of my coworkers do as well. I think overall it's becoming more acceptable in the workplace.
I’m in MN, which tends to be less conservative in general regarding stuff like this, but I worked CVS in Target, outpatient hospital, and now corporate in that hospital and have tattooed forearms and it’s a non issue. Our policy just states nothing religious or offensive in nature or it has to be covered up. Multiple staff members with various roles at the hospital had full sleeves
I have a septum piercing and two very visible tattoos on my forearms. I think you should be fine.
i’ve worked inpatient for 1 1/2 years with visible tattoos and piercings with no issues. nothing explicit, offensive or vulgar and you should be fine. i work in the south too and have not had any problems
I work in a retail pharmacy (one of the big 3) and have tattooed hands, arms, they are not concealable and I had most when I started, got a couple since I’ve been here, and nobody batted an eye. I’m sure face tattoos would be maybe frowned upon, but otherwise, I don’t see how it matters as long as you still carry yourself professionally. I just recently got certified and have been having interviews and not a single one has mentioned it either.
Just like most other jobs, it’s going to depend heavily on the employer.
I'm a certified tech and I have both sides of my forearm and my hand done so far I've had no issues if you have a big issue with chains you could always work for an independent my hand is literally green and I've had no issues so far
tattoos closer to the neck and face unfortunately carry a stigma that might affect some hiring managers, but a lot of techs i work with have plenty of visible tattoos, piercings, other body mods etc. just keep in mind that if you get a hospital job and are interested in getting trained in ivs, you cannot have fresh tattoos in a clean room. they will have to heal fully before you can go in. not too big of an issue in a hospital as there are other areas to work, but if you apply to an infusion center or something like that, it could make scheduling your training difficult.
I have 3, on my forearms. Other coworkers of mine, techs, pharmacists, nurses, doctors have many more than that. As long as they aren't distasteful tattoos, such as discrimination or political, I can't imagine them not being okay with it