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Q: Does having a tattoo make it harder to find work?
I know that in Europe it is often said that having a tattoo where it is easily visible is not advisable just in case you eventually want to work in a sector where it has to be able to be covered up.
What is it like in China? Does having a tattoo become a hinderance when looking for work? More so than in Europe?
i know that for Chinese you are not allowed have tattoo's if you want to work in the following areas:
all Public Service jobs including teaching
Army
Police etc.
a Chinese friend told me that there is a physical examination for them - no exceptions.
for any non-Chinese, there is a bit more of a relaxed policy.
a couple of my former colleagues had tattoos and were an object of interest and somewhat of an ice-breaker, so with foreigners there is a more relaxed attitude:
"lookat the crazy foreigner has done that to him/her self" as they take a lot of pictures for weibo
however, be sure to cover over any neo-nazi/xenophobic tatt's 
Stiggs:
I'm sure I read somewhere, not very recently so I wouldn't be able to find a link, that the no tattoo rule had been relaxed for those wanting to join the army. If I remember correctly, if the tattoo is not too big it may be overlooked now.
Once you're in though it doesn't seem to matter. There's a guy who goes to the same gym as me, he sports a big shoulder tattoo and I think something on his back too. I never thought much of it until I saw him leave in a military uniform once.
I have tattoos on my forearms and I'm required by the school administration to wear long sleeve shirts in the classroom. This is the third public school I've taught at in China and they've all had that same policy. I'd wear polo shirts as a teacher in the States and it wasn't a problem.
I have tattoos on my arms (from my service days) and on my neck (some crazy thing I did years ago). I don't problems so long as I don't show it in class. Having tattoos in China means you are someone from the underworld or so it seems but on a foreigner they mean different things. What Sorrel said is true, foreigners ok, locals no no.
In a recent survey it was estimated that there is approximately 370,000 tattoo studio's and artist in mainland China now, so they must be tattooing someone. When I first came here several years past it did seem to be a taboo to show tattoos, however I have realise lately that many people don't really bother to point them out anymore. I have noticed over the past 2 years that many Chinese girls have started to express themselves so much more, arms, legs neck shoulders. I actually paid a visit to a local studio last week with regards to the cost for a removal. My ex wife's name, I was quoted 400 rmb, for total laser removal regardless the number of visits.
I work in a university and have tattooed forearms. For the interview and the first semester I covered them up, then I outed myself for the second semester, because it was too hot for short sleeves anymore. No one seems too outraged by them. I think it's a good thing to educate Chinese people that tattoos are not a sign of a misspent youth. The old attitude is still out there, but I think people, the younger generation especially, are learning.
doogsville:
I'm not sure what you're talking about. Are you referring to the university education or educating people about tattoos? Perhaps if you had a little more education yourself you might be able to express yourself properly.
It depends of the “work” and the “tattoo”.
In my experience, you can ware a “decent average tattoo” in almost all the working fields where the foreigners make their living here -I don’t think you be considering joining to the PLA anyway-.
Now, if you ask me to outline what a “decent average tattoo” is, I will define it as anything which doesn’t make you look like a proud member of the “Yakuza”, the “MS-13” or like Edward Norton in American History X.
