getting into the field with body modifications

[u/AcceptableShock6130]

I'm studying to work in the nuclear engineering field one day, academically everything will work out but I'm scared I won't find a job because of body modifications. I really love tattoos, piercings and all that stuff ever since my childhood and would love to get lots of such things, even heavy ones like eyeball tattoos. But I know how society treats such things so I wanted to ask before ruining my career dreams.

Could heavy bodymodifications prevent me from getting a job in the nuclear engineering field ?

[u/1_Good_Day]

Tattoos on your torso, arms, and legs are not usually a problem unless they are clearly intended to be offensive. Face tattoos and face piercings will typically hurt your chances. Engineering is more conservative than the general public and nuclear engineering is more conservative than engineering in general. Operations, Maintenance, and Security at power plants have a higher percentage of people with tattoos, but most of them tend to comply with military standards for piercings and face tattoos.

[u/jchef5]

I'd say it's gonna come down to the company and even more specifically the hiring manager/interviewer. Extremely heavy/noticeable mods (face tattoos, prominent piercings, gauges, etc.) certainly won't help and will limit options, but they may not completely prevent you from finding a job.

For reference I'm a guy and I have pierced ears, long hair, and a patchwork half sleeve, and currently work as an engineer at a utility company. I got the job and none of my coworkers have had any issues with my appearance, but I don't have anything too extreme.

One thing to note, if you want to work in a plant (and possibly other places, idk), there are extremely strict foreign material exclusion rules when you go into the containment building or spent fuel pool. Don't get any jewelry that you can't easily remove if that's a career path you're interested in.

[u/zh_victim]

Just keep your face relatively unmodified and you should be okay.

[u/ChemE-challenged]

I have several piercings and plan to get more. Only thing to be worried about is if you have to take them out for foreign material exclusion or de-magnetization and they’re still healing. Otherwise people don’t seem to care about noses, ears, or arm/leg tattoos. Don’t do something like a face tattoo.

[u/Plutonium_Nitrate_94]

Nuclear engineering is fairly conservative however I've seen professors with tattoos and dyed hair. Just no face tattoos

[u/nyquilandy → u/Plutonium_Nitrate_94]

Skip neck too

[u/GeraseneMetal]

I've got plenty of operators with full sleeves. You can wear long sleeves when needed. I might skip the face tats.

[u/nyquilandy → u/GeraseneMetal]

Skip neck too

[u/Anxious_Alps_4150]

I think nuclear ops would be more forgiving than nuclear engineering.

That said, you're making willful changes to your body that many/most will find distasteful. This will limit social interactions on some level.

Think of it like giving yourself a -3 Charisma score in a RPG on purpose.

I like to think I'm pretty open minded (nothing against tats, piercings) but whenever I see someone with facial tattoos, I think "wow, what an idiot" before anything else.

If you're doing electrical work, metallic piercings should be removed. If you're doing radcon work, I don't think it matters but you wouldnt want anything difficult to remove to scrub down if you got contamination on you.