Career Questions Students Ask The Most (Part 6)

(or Should I Really Become a Tattoo Artist?)

By Michael T. Robinson
President and Chief Career Counselor
CareerPlanner.com Inc

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20) If I was in a career field for quite a while and decided I wanted to do something else, would I be better off just staying where I am, or are there any strategies I could use to start a new career?

Well this is what I get paid to help people with.

But here are a few career change ideas for free:

• It's hard to be successful if you are no longer passionate about the work you do
• Don't quit your day job until you have lined up your next job
• If you want to make a radical career change, it will take time - maybe 3 to 10 years
• There is nothing better than earning a living by work you love
• Start saving 25% of your pay check now, so you can afford to change your career

21) What are the educational or training requirements to become a Career Counselor?

Many career counselors earn a Masters Degree in the field.

Many also study psychology while they are doing that.

For people who transition into career counseling later in life, there are schools and programs where they can study and get a certificate. You can Google these.

22) I’m a junior in high school who’s inspiring to be a Tattoo Artist. What advice could you give me or someone in my position?

Whether you want to be a Tattoo Artist, an Accountant, or a Game Developer, the career planning process is the same:

• Take a Career Interest Test (CiT®) to see if your career choice matches your interests
• The take a Personality Test and read the Advanced Personality Type Career Report to see if your career choice is a good match for your Personality Type
• Shadow a few people who do that type of work. In this case, hang out in a Tattoo Parlor for a few days to see if it "feels right"
• Hire a career counselor for a few hours
• Research the salary and the future for your career choice
• Look for other career options that may be just as satisfying but provide more $$

So imagine you want to be a Tattoo Artist:

Call a few Tattoo shops and tel them you are a student and interested in becoming one of them. Ask them if you could volunteer, observe, hang out etc.

While there, ask them these questions:

How much do you like your career?

What parts of your job do you find the most satisfying?

What parts of your job do you not enjoy?

Did you plan for this career or did you "fall into it?"

How did you become a Tattoo Artist?

What training and education is required to become a Tattoo Artist?

If you had it to do all over again, what would you be?

How does the future look for Tattoo Artists?

Is their a strong, growing demand for Tattoo Artists?

Is there a lot of competition?

What does it take to be a great Tattoo Artist?

Do you see this job being shipped offshore?

Do you get any medical benefits or retirement plans with this job?

How will you afford to retire when you get too old to do Tattoo's.

23) Do You Really Want to Become a Tattoo Artist?

OK, here is my personal take on this question of becoming a Tattoo Artist..

I don't think being a Tattoo Artist is a great career for most people and I think there are other related careers which would be much better. However only you can decide for yourself. It's your life. It's your career. You and only you are responsible for how it turns out.

Except if your career bombs and you have to move back in with your parents. Then your career starts to become partially their responsibility, again.

There should be alternative careers that would:

• Pay better
• Offer more personal growth and room for opportunities
• Offer medical insurance, 401Ks, and other benefits
• Offer a safer working environment
• Not force you to work in the seedy unsafe part of town

Now I have to be honest. I have never met nor talked to a Tattoo Artist.

I'm over 50 and I don't have any tattoos. I've seen Tattoo Artists on TV but that is the closest I've come to it.

I can't tell if you were born to be the worlds greatest Tattoo Artist or not.

Also, I would never hire someone with visible tattoos. I work in the business world and tattoos just don't fit. However, if I were a drummer in a rock band, tattoos might be interesting to me.

So the best way to tell if a career as a Tattoo Artist is right for you, is to spend a few days hanging out and assisting in a Tattoo shop. This shadowing process will tell you a lot. It will tell you if you are really interested in the career. If it interests you, you will want to come back for more.

What shadowing won't tell you is if there is a better career for you that you have not yet discovered. For that you need to look into options and alternatives.

So, let me suggest this. If you are so good at drawing and sketching that people will allow you to permanently draw on their bodies, that suggests you might like a career in graphic arts, advertising, web development etc.

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