Where'd You Get Those Tats?

Earnings potential: $30,000 at the low end, hundreds of thousands at the high end

Time investment: Learning how to properly tattoo

Useful for: artsy types, college students, talented drawers, prison inmates

Do you like to draw? On people? No, this post isn't about drawing obscenities on your frat brother's face after a night of debauchery. Become a tattoo artist!

 The first major pro about this job is the flexibility. Work your own hours, choose your clients, and even choose what kind of artwork you want to pursue. Tattooing is most profitable when you take a subject that you really admire, and you decide to become a master at it. Some tattoo artist specialize in intricate texts, others in landscapes, and others in tattooing images of faces, people, or animals. As long as you are earning something, your time is more important than money in many ways. But money is still important!

  Tattoo artists can charge huge sums for little work. A going rate is often $60, $70, or even $100+ per hour of work. This means that even a lazy tattoo artist can have a decent living. A tattoo artist willing to drum up customers and work 8 to 10 hour days can rake in some serious cash. And we do mean CASH. Lots of customers will be willing (or have no other option) to pay in cash. Having immediate payment is always a good thing.

Tattooing people is a very personal job. This means that you are likely to get repeat customers and build relationships. If there is anything that you should be learning from this blog, it's that relationships are vital. They open new doors and new opportunities. New jobs, new travels, and new knowledge. Better yet, you will most likely be dealing with interesting people. Roadies, musicians, dealers, and more.

On a darker note, being a tattoo artist can also be incredibly valuable in one terrible situation - prison. Tattoo artists are highly respected in the prison system. They are protected and paid well -for prison standards - with necessities. There you have it - a career that pays well, helps create valuable and interesting contacts, and will save you in prison.

What else do you need? Get out and earn!

-Freddy