Career post: Tattooing

This quarter, I have decided to research how to become a tattoo artist. I think being a tattoo artist would be cool because you get to meet a lot of people and I think tattoos look really cool, despite not knowing what I would ever want permanently on me. Tattoo salary can range a lot, and every source I found gives a different average salary. The average salary in the US ranges from 40-90k. You can start for as low as 16 an hour on top of base pay, but if you build experience and enough of a reputation, you can charge towards 500 an hour on top of base pay. I found some sources saying that the average hourly pay was twenty, and others said 60. The basic idea is that the salary of a tattoo artist varies a lot, and it will depend a lot on the reputation you build and number of hours you work. Requirements for becoming a tattoo artist vary between states. Some states require a high school diploma or GED, along with completion of an apprenticeship. Having CPR certification and training with bloodborne pathogens can also be encouraged or required for certification. Needed skills include art skills, attention to detail, and communication skills. The majority of the time, tattoo artists are not required to have a high school diploma or formal education, but you can pursue a traditional art degree, train at a tattoo institute, or take classes at your community college if you wish to take an academic approach. Well ranked art schools include Yale, the University of California, and VCU. The most important steps are building a portfolio and completing an apprenticeship. Something to consider is creating a social media for your tattooing, so as to showcase your work and get your name widespread due to the profession being highly competitive. I have watched a lot of videos regarding tattooing in the past, and while researching more for this assignment, the most surprising thing I found was more than one source discussing getting bored with the profession. During apprenticeship, you might watch tattoo artists tattoo people for hours and once certified, the job might lose its spark. I feel this kinda goes for most things in life, but it is definitely something to keep in mind since the journey to becoming a well established tattoo artist requires a lot of commitment.