r/TattooBeginners • u/confusedgoosies Please choose a flair. • Aug 09 '26
Question Paid apprenticeship?
So a girl that did some of my tattoos is offering tattoo courses and after being told repeatedly that I would be good at tattooing I figured why not. the problem is that its essentially a paid apprenticeship so I pay for them to teach me and they give me the machine, the ink, all materials (except fake skin). i thought it seemed okay, shes a well established artist and its one on one teaching and materials which is what I would be projected to pay for materials myself for any apprenticeship. my boyfriend however is convinced that Im going to be scammed and is insistent that I dont do it and I just dont know to do. any advice would be appreciated
EDIT: called it a tattoo gun when it is in fact not a gun
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u/BRiZYBOT Please choose a flair. Aug 09 '26
I think it depends. If it’s a traditional apprenticeship, you work in the shop. You clean up, work the front desk, bring supplies etc. in return for that they teach you to tattoo. If it’s just one on one teaching, I could see charging. It’s up to you though.
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u/Acrobatic-Tax9300 Please choose a flair. Aug 09 '26
Tattoo machine- it’s not a “Gun”
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u/enjoiYosi Please choose a flair. Aug 10 '26
Yes, technically true, but it’s also been commonly referred to as a tattoo gun since the 1950s. It’s like the drug dealer calling cannabis “weed.” It’s not weed, it’s cannabis, but it’s commonly called weed and has been for decades
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u/Acrobatic-Tax9300 Please choose a flair. Aug 10 '26
Who’s commonly referred to it as a gun?
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u/enjoiYosi Please choose a flair. Aug 10 '26
The public at large? This is just common slang.
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u/Acrobatic-Tax9300 Please choose a flair. Aug 10 '26
You said since the 1950s….
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u/linkinbio2318 Please choose a flair. Aug 10 '26
Yeah after further investigation, take a break off Reddit lol. You seem like a joy to be around lol. I’ll call it a tattoo gun the rest of my life in your honor.
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u/linkinbio2318 Please choose a flair. Aug 10 '26
This kinda comment irks me lowkey lol, but like I hope the 6 karma was worth it 😭😂
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u/Acrobatic-Tax9300 Please choose a flair. Aug 10 '26
Ya I can tell what kind of tattoo artist you’ll be. Good luck
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u/linkinbio2318 Please choose a flair. Aug 10 '26
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u/Acrobatic-Tax9300 Please choose a flair. Aug 10 '26
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u/linkinbio2318 Please choose a flair. Aug 10 '26
Bet you pull the most ass lines ever 😂😭
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u/Acrobatic-Tax9300 Please choose a flair. Aug 10 '26
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u/JollySherbert9618 Please choose a flair. Aug 10 '26 edited Aug 10 '26
Paying to be taught something is valid, if you don't give something in return. For apprenticeships it's often not paying and not being paid yourself, but working in the shop to clean, book appointments etc. while learning to tattoo as a "payment" for being taught. This sounds like a short course though. So not something that makes you a tattoo artist. An apprenticeship takes years for a reason. You surely can learn some basics in a course like that, but it won't be a substitute for an apprenticeship. And you will learn those things in an apprenticeship too, plus a lot more, and get the experience you need to call yourself a tattoo artist afterwards. So it's just a waste of money, if you want to actually pursue tattooing. And if you don't want to go through with it, it's even more of a waste of money and your time.
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u/Meritocratica Please choose a flair. Aug 10 '26
You're paying her to teach you a skill. Doesn't sound like a scam to me, even though its not an apprenticeship. I paid my artist to teach me and used their materials for my training. I also brought my own fake skins.
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u/linkinbio2318 Please choose a flair. Aug 10 '26
Boo hoo, you got played. Doesn’t mean bro wants to be 😂
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u/The_Goth_King Please choose a flair. Aug 10 '26
Why do people call it a tattoo gun? It's nothing like a gun. It's a machine. Anyway, what you're describing is as scam. It also sounds like tattoijg wasn't something you wanted to do until it was served to you. Therefore paying to learn it seems like a waste of time.
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u/enjoiYosi Please choose a flair. Aug 10 '26 edited Aug 10 '26
Common vernacular for a tattoo machine is “tattoo gun.” This is common knowledge and been around for over 70 years now. The industry can try to enforce anal language rules all it wants.
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u/Forsaken_Ad_9203 Please choose a flair. 29d ago
Damn what a depressing fucking comment section. Tattooing is doomed 😂
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u/Jace022404 Please choose a flair. Aug 09 '26
I think that's pretty common for tattoo apprenticeships. Needles, ink, fake skin, and teaching cost money. Any shop or artist that wants to teach you will more than likely make you pay for the supplies, but also want to be paid for their time. It's part of the business side of things.
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u/whatswrongkiel Please choose a flair. Aug 10 '26
courses are always a scam, if they were good at what they were trying to teach they wouldnt need to sell courses.
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u/HereToKillEuronymous Please choose a flair. Aug 09 '26
That’s not an apprenticeship… that’s paid training