lurkette

K, so I seriously miss my purple hair. I had to dye it a normal color for work - not like anybody told me I had to, but I'm pretty sure it would have caused a stir if I hadn't dyed it something more natural. Usually it's just me in an office so nobody cares, but I started travelling and planning meetings again and the researchers and hotel folks would probably have raised their eyebrows.

So are there any jobs out there that could be done with purple hair without losing credibility? I'm in the mood for a career change soon anyhow. I'm sure I could freelance with purple hair, and if I were in a creative field I could probably get away with it a lot easier.

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numist

Sorry, lurkette...

everywhere Ive worked off color hair was out, as well as off color language, and piercings that arent on your ears...

then again, Ive been retail for most of this, so youll have better luck if you avoid that.

good luck to you

KnifeMissile

Hey, lurkette, you frequent this forum more than I would have suspected. I don't know, the Politics board seems to get a lot of traffic...

I'm a software developer and I've been caught wearing braids and an hawaiian(sp) T-shirt while swinging a padded katana (samurai sword) at work without a problem. I've seen guys wearing a skirt and makeup with a problem, either. I sometimes where a tie at work ('cause I like them) but I get made fun of (not so much, anymore, now that people are used to it).

In short, no one cares what software developers wear or look like...

Sparhawk

I'll be the first to direct you away from a career with the military. Although if you get a civil service job with a nice GS rating, it's almost impossible to fire you, and it'd really piss off the mil guys when you show up with purple hair

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Jam

i work in a warehouse and drive so im sure pretty much anything would go but my boss would make fun of me... '

tho i am quiting soon and getting a job in a restaurant before i go to culinary school

costello

im thinkin maybe check out a coffee shop or somethin. they have a lot of them around campus, and no strict dress/appearence code seems to apply. hope this helps

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mb99usa

Things are really starting to loosen up dress-code/appearance wise. I would think it would not be too difficult but I could be wrong.

I know this was not much help, maybe if you could give us some idea of the type of work you are looking for we might be able to provide some better advice.

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Lurkette... i dyed a single red stripe in my daughters hair for cheerleading season. Her elementary school is forgiving, but the middle school would have sent her home and not allowed her back in school unless her hair was a "normal" color, *laugh*whatever "normal" means.

It's too bad... because the reality is that even if you find a job and/or office that allows it... people's fear of change and the unknown will always be a factor to consider.

I admire your ability to go for the purple in the first place... i am no where near the brave as of yet.

neddy65

your purple hair was styled nicely and it wasn't an overly shocking shade(at least in your photos anyway) and I think you look great with it*sigh* so go back to purple by all means and inquire if it will be a problem with any future employers. If you make it clear that you can change the colour in an hour or so it shouldn't be a stumbling block.

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bermuDa

I liked your purple hair

I'd ask if it'd be a problem first and maybe produce a picture to show it's not a threatening neon punk style or anything...

or you could work for a record store

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Spinach_Indeed

I have a full head of Green hair, so I understand your position.

Yea, I work at a Café and it's not a problem. It depends where you are, I guess. I live in Richmond, around VCU which is an Art School of sorts, so most of the employers are used to piercings and hair changes.

Good luck, I hope you find something good.

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HarmlessRabbit

Speaking from experience with my wife, I can safely say many different shades of SFX and/or Manic Panic purple and pink are totally ok as a massage therapist. I think that whole "alternative medicine" field is pretty forgiving... massage therapist, yoga instructor, colon hydrotherapist , etc. etc.

Jadey

Well, you can work for me! You'd fit right in. I'm the sup in the PrePress Department of a commercial printing company. I've had a guy with green hair, a girl with blue highlights, and a girl with the front half of her head dyed yellow. I've also had a guy with a ponytail and a girl with about 3 peircings (not counting her ears). Right now, I've got a girl with purple streaks in her hair and a "goth" girl that wears all black with jet black hair. I think throughout the company our department is kind of looked at a little differently, but all of these people get the job done and that's waht matters to me. I know what it's like to be discriminated against because of your appearance. I'm a big guy, I shave my head and have had some "unusual" facial hair at times. I've toned it down myself since I got the supervisor job, but I don't expect my employees to change who they are as long as they keep doing the work they do.

jimk

kinko's & whole foods.

biggest assortment of creative hair color i've ever seen...........

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Cecil Beeber

The state government seems oddly forgiving, as long as you're out somewhere near construction and not in an office. I dyed my hair purple this summer, as a construction inspector. Caused a bit of a stir (lots of comments, no dislike), but then again, I worked with a bunch of guys who had no problem with long haired men, but freaked out at the thought of a short haired girl.

Gun

I'll tell you what job does NOT ALLOW purple hair: Eckerd Drug Stores. My friend just got fired for having blue, and he refused to shave or bleach it.

Dilbert1234567

i have afreind who takes calls for a medical office or something basicly a call center, they could care less about the color of the hair

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WarWagon

I worked delivering auto parts, nobody ever has a problem. Most of the guys I dealt with were covered in tattoos anyways. Construction was the same way, though they advised us against piercings for safety reasons. The only thing thats prevented me from getting my tats thus far and doing red hilights in my hair is that I want to make damn sure I'm building chassis for a living where it doesnt matter. I also want to leave internship opportunities open in the meantime.

Astrocloud

Simply move to Boston. I had a meeting where one of the hardware engineers had dyed black hair and permanent vampire fangs. For whatever reason, not too many people seem to care in Boston.

HarmlessRabbit

Hell, in the bay area you could have a whole meeting full of people like that. The goth/industrial/punk/raver crossover with the geek crowd is amazingly high. I blame Berkeley.

Chingal0

Could work a line cook at a joint where the kitchen is hidden and they make you wear hats hehe.

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jbrooks544

I have nothing against someone doing this to their hair, etc. In my personal life I am completely non-judgemental. But in business, I think I am the vast majority - where I ALWAYS am suspect of any non-standard appearance feature. Look, this is my livelyhood. I need to put food on my kid's plate, etc. I need to be 100% convinced that anyone I am doing business with or that I'm thinking of hiring is going to be serious and work toward my interests. If someone is serious about succeeding and about doing business, then they don't have funny hair, etc. Business is a game. You need to play by the rules. Even if you start your own business or someting, where you can do whatever you want. Could you still afford to lose even 1 out of 10 potential customers because they didn't take you seriously? 10% of business can be the difference between success and bankruptcy. If you are serious about succeeding then you would have to bite the bullet and be conservative. What about the novelty stuff that you can wash out? Can't you do this at night or weekends and then just wash it? If you want to "be all you can be" in biz then you needt to play the game.

Cecil Beeber

I'll agree with you there. I fully intend to stop dying my hair once I graduate (and it's always normal for interviews), but in the meantime, I'm getting my kicks while I can

wario

Seems to me that you'd have to go for more of a conservative look if you were to freelance since you'd constantly be meeting and dealing with new clients. So it's like a constant interview and you always dress conservatively for an interview. You just need to get a steady job and once you've laid your roots there, talk with the boss and see if they would mind your purple hair. If you're in a position where you don't deal with clients directly, it's usually okay.

glytch

What about a record store? It's almost a pre-requisite to have dyed hair or another stand-out feature for record store clerks. On that same thought, you could work for a radio station.

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Cynthetiq

you could work here at MTV.. there's people here with pink hair and piercings visible and other places that we don't want to know...

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