<p>Im going to graduate school in a month. Its at a university in Texas dedicated to biomedical research (UT Southwestern), so I will be working in a research lab while I am there. I am going for a phd in immunology. I need to do 3 lab rotations, and then I join a lab for phd research.</p>
<p>I will be arriving in the summer and itll be hot, obviously. How do you think professors and students will react to my tattoos? Do you think the tattoos will affect my chances of being able to work in a professors lab? What about joining study groups or making friends? Do you suggest I cover them up for a couple of weeks and then, after everyone gets to know me better, reveal them? Or just keep them covered up forever? What should I tell students and professors when they ask about me wearing long sleeves? Should I just admit to having tattoos if they ask why Im wearing long sleeves?</p>
<p>I know a lot of graduate students in our biology department who have tattoos and weird piercings and it’s no big deal. I’m in California, though, and a different field of study, so I don’t know if that makes any difference? Judging by the content of your tattoos (ie not skulls or something offensive), I think it would be okay. Especially with other graduate students–I think that it’d be an interesting start to a conversation.
If you want to hide them for the first few weeks, that’s not a bad idea, especially if you get the feeling they’re not really in to tattoos. They’d get to see who you are and be in for a little surprise when you finally reveal them. The tattoos won’t be a part of the first impressions, and they’d have to be more accepting.
That’s just my take. </p>
<p>Agree’d with the above poster. Start of by wearing long sleeves and eventually reveal the tattoos. “The tattoos won’t be a part of the first impressions, and they’d have to be more accepting.” This is very true.</p>
<p>So if someone asks (like a professor or student) about why I’m wearing long sleeves in the blazing heat, what should I say? Would it be best to admit that I have tattoos and say something like “I’m protecting my tattoos from the sun” or “I don’t want people to judge me initially based on my tattoos”? Or should I make up some excuse like “it’s cold in here”? If I make up an excuse, would it look bad if the next week they saw my tattoos and realized I was lying?</p>
<p>I withheld my opinion before, because I think that it is ultimately your decision, but personally, I wouldn’t cover them up at all. If you are confident in who you are, and believe that your tattoos are an integral part of your identity, then you shouldn’t be afraid to show them off. I know that is easier said than done, but you have already proven yourself academically, and any professor or student who would merely judge your personal characteristics based on a few tattoos would be quite foolish and nearsighted. Merely my two cents.</p>
<p>I agree- just dress as you normally would. Personally, I think your tattoos are quite awesome. And come on, what’s wrong with showing off tattoos as a biology student? Biology needs diversity, in the classroom too.</p>
<p>Your tattoos will definitely be off-putting to some people, especially older ones (professors) and females of the shyer variety. My advice is to cover them up for the first week, and if anybody asks, tell them the truth, that you want people to get to know you before you reveal your body art.</p>
<p>I would recommend taking the most cautious approach – cover up initially and don’t reveal your tattoos until after you have established your relationships. You can’t take back a first impression, so why run the risk of being “labeled” before you have had a chance to prove yourself?</p>
<p>I suspect that the people who are telling you your tattoos are awesome and you should go ahead and show them off are students who have not had much experience with graduate school, or perhaps employers in general. Your professors will almost assuredly be of a different generation that still sees tattoos as being quite “different” (even “weird”) and some may even feel they are something that only rebels/dope dealers/prisoners would be proud of. This is especially likely in Texas, where many people tend to have ultra-conservative views. The safe, practical approach is to let them get to know you first as a person, not as “that kid with tattoos.” </p>
<p>By the way, don’t worry about wearing long sleeves in the summer. Many people in Texas do – to avoid sunburn when outdoors and to counteract icy cold A/C indoors. No one will notice, much less ask you about it.</p>
<p>As far as employers ago, I wouldn’t venture to advise him to show off his tattoos in front of them. That’d be crazy, yeah. But why would professors label him a rebel/druggie? He got into a presumably difficult PhD program. Is Texas THAT bad?</p>
<p>Worried_mom, your point of view makes sense, but what if they ask me (especially professors) about why I’m wearing long sleeves or if I feel hot? If I were to say because it’s cold inside and then they later see my tattoos, wouldn’t they look down on me and think I was being disrespectful because I lied to them and they’d also think I’m insecure? If I should admit to them that I have tattoos, what would be a good way to say it?</p>
<p>They might just assume you’ve acclimatized to the weather there. I know when I first moved to California I was wearing shorts year-round. Now that I’ve been here for a few years 65° actually feels cold. :(</p>
<p>I think you are obsessing unnecessarily about the potential “why long sleeves?” question. I can’t imagine why anyone – especially professors – would comment in that way on your choice of clothing. I went Texas A&M and worked part-time for the Texas Highway Department (both centers of conservatism) and not once was I ever asked about wearing long sleeves, even in July and August. And why do you think that they would immediately jump to the conclusion that you were DISRESPECTFUL and LIED TO THEM if you said you were cold some time before they found out about your tattoos. Quite frankly, they’ll never make the connection between the two events; professors have too many other things to be thinking about. </p>
<p>If you are that worried about it – and in the highly unlikely event that the question about long sleeves actually does come up – then just tell them that you have rather large tattoos on your forearms and you were uncertain as to what everyone’s reaction to them might be, so you wanted to delay revealing them until people got to know you for your work in the lab, rather than your appearance.</p>
<p>I know plenty of professors with tattoos (including a good friend and coauthor at Penn). The prof one of my kids dyes her hair neon colors every month…this is not a big deal at all (and if its a research uni, most faculty are not going to be from all over, not that particular region, so probably not relevant). Academics are a tolerant bunch- they are highly educated, travel a lot, work in a global environment, and never really learned to dress well :). They are outcome focused (ie. pubs) so personality and appearance quirks seems to be less relevant that elsewhere in the world (and more often that not the most prolific scientists are usually the most indifferent to superficial stuff like appearance and mannerisms).</p>
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