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I'm a student engineer with 2 years of uni to go and my hair will only just be getting to a length I'll start being happy with right at the time I'll be applying for jobs as a professional graduate engineer, looking for work in large companies like BP, Shell etc. I am aware the arts industry is a lot more lenient when it comes to hairstyles but do any of you have any opinions or experience with getting a job in a more "serious" profession with your long hair?
I also might like to add that I really want to dye my hair black with a large blue streak at the front... just like the photo above. (but on a guy's head of course)and I have a feeling that may be the nail in the coffin with regards to trying to find a job, even when tied in a bun. What about dyeing it once you have the job? I'm really regretting I didn't make this decision years ago.
What kind of engineering are you entering into?
(Mechanicalm, elecrrical, chemical, etc.?)
Some are more lenient than others.
If you are really good at your chosen field of engineering
it is possible to get the employer to overlook the long hair.
Where you mention BP, Shell, etc.would it be chemical engineering?
I'm looking at doing Mechanical Engineering, and unfortunately I'm only getting average marks at uni. The fact I want to colour it concerns me much more than the length does to be honest.
Not sure about the companies you mentioned, but I work at IBM and I can tell you that I've seen long haired guys there. I have even seen guys with dread locks.
I am not sure what kind of engineer you're going to be. The IT world in general is a lot more laid back since you barely deal with clients but i am not sure if this is your case .
Hey man, I am a consultant so I work in many different professional environments. Some are business dress where the men have to wear dress pants and long sleeve shirts, and they tend to have the typical short cut. Others are jean and t-shirt places and I've seen plenty of guys with longish hair.
I guess I have an advantage seeing I had very good relationships with all my clients before I started growing my hair out. But still all of the reactions I've gotten so far have been neutral and positive.
I also worked at a civil engineering firm for 6 years and there was a mix of long hair and short hair at that place too. I think as long as your hair is well taken care of, and looks neat especially in an interview then you should be just fine.
-Tommy
Most corporate dress codes I've seen require hair to be a "natural color" - not that you can't dye it, but you can't dye it blue like in the photo. Definitely would not interview for a job with bright blue hair.
I've worked around professionals in the energy industry and I'll have to say it was a pretty conservative looking scene as far as fashion is concerned. The ponytail alone will probably have you in the minority. I'd suggest putting off the distinctive hair coloring or nose ring for a few years while you establish yourself as indispensable to the operation. After you've settled in well you might go for a more adventurous look.
Well I am a civil engineer and I have no problem with my boss
about my hair. Of course I am my boss as I have my own firm hehe.
Over the years I've only had one client give me a dirty look
because of my hair. He didn't say anything and he continued to be
my client but I know he didn't like my hair. Anyway he is dead
now because he he had what I consider to be a much worse habit
than growing hair...smoking. I will take hairballs on the floor
over lung cancer any day.
Hey I've started working last year in a construction company (from Melbourne Australia) and there was a young engineer with the coolest long curly hair up to the shoulders. It didn't matter in the slightest!! I've also seen heaps of uni friends who got into industry with long hair
I'm now trying to grow my hair out as well and I've also got curly hair, I figure as long as I keep using product on it to keep it looking tidy, I shouldn't get any complaints.
You would probably get away with a pony tail but the blue would be a killer. Natural colours only.
Dyeing it later will likely impede your progress within the company you work for. Some things are acceptable, others about so but you want to cross the line.
Working in the design end of the construction industry; I have always sported "Longer " hair then the accepted norm, even more so thes past few years as i now have ot at mid back length, usually tied neatly in a tail. No issues. Perhaps because I'm a "boss' but I see a lot of longahirsi n construction trades and in offices. Structural engineering has no isse with hair length or facial hair, so far as have encountered. Basically its' do your job. be fair. and at least stay clean (Except for the on site work crews. Gettin' dirty is a part of the day.
Seriously length and color should not matter imho, but then again that's me. Unfortunately not everyone is that open-minded.
my motto is: Change for yourself, but don't change for others.
Hope it's not too late to chime in to this one.
In practising a profession, one makes certain...I'll call them 'compromises' even though the word has come to take on a negative connotation, and not just with the crowd on this hyperboard. :-) Professionals get a measure of respect, and are in general compensated better than the average worker, but there are prices one pays. For example, the cost - and time - of the advanced education necessary. For some professions, the work hours, and the time commitment above and beyond that required of the average worker. And yes, the expectation that you will look a certain way, at least until you've 'earned' the respect needed by your accomplishments. When you're first starting out, IFF you want to get a good start, you may find yourself having to put aside your desires as to the way you want to look. After you've established a track record, as least in some professions, people will accept you even if they don't like your appearance. I'm talking employers, clients, patients...whatever.
As has already been pointed out, the expectation of a certain appearance varies by profession. The example given was that the oil industry is considered to be more 'conservative' in its expectations whilst the IT industry is far more relaxed.
Now I'm a rabbi, and religion is generally considered to be a rather conservative world. But of course that varies quite a bit by denomination. I'm a Progressive Rabbi, and the expectations of my congregation in this regard are not nearly as rigid as those of an Orthodox congregation towards their rabbi. Likewise in other faiths...in some of the 'liberal' branches of Christianity, the expectations may be different than those in the Evangelical world. And of course the expectations are different for men and women; I have a female Anglican colleague here who had been approached by members of her congregation and asked why she doesn't 'grow up' and learn to wear makeup, tweeze her brows, et cetera. (Probably they didn't say anything about her hair length...)
I've always fancied long hair, since I was a teenager. But at age 20, I volunteered for military service and therefore had to give up my autonomy to decide my hair length (except within very narrow parameters) whilst serving. When I left the Navy to study at seminary, I let my hair grow. When I volunteered for the Air Force chaplaincy upon ordination I obviously once more accepted conformity to the military standard.
After retiring from the Air Force and taking a congregational position, I began letting my hair gradually grow longer. A couple of my members made not-so-complimentary comments, but I didn't let it bother me. When I was looking for a new position and expecting interviews, I went to my hairdresser. "I want to look like a man who wears long hair," I told her. "As opposed to man who hasn't bothered to get a haircut in six months." (Obviously long is the opposite of short, but long need not look poorly groomed, even though there are those who will automatically think long hair on a man is not well-groomed.) I got several interviews in person after the Skype interviews (where the interviewers could see clearly that I wore longish hair), and eventually ended up taking this position in Australia.
Since coming to Australia, I've been growing my hair in earnest, but I still accept limits. For example, I always keep it tied back when on the job; I like to let it flow freely, but that's for days off. And I'm reluctant to get a head of foils, although I'd like to, because I wonder if that will be 'crossing the line' for a congregation that is quite tolerant.
So...hair, or any aspect of appearance is a matter of give-and-take for the professional, male or female.
The good news - if I haven't missed my guess - is that you're in Australia. (You didn't say, but your use of the abbreviation 'uni' for 'university' as the Ozzies do, tells me that you might be Down Under.) If so, Oz is a relatively laid back and tolerant place.
Even so, my personal recommendation would be that you not show up for your interviews for that first professional job with a hairstyle/colour that might be seen as outlandish. Later, when you've proven yourself, you can judge for yourself what are the limits in your particular professional environment.
Best success to you; in your studies, and as you begin your professional 'voyage'!
Don