An IT friend of mine decided to get some piercings, including a nipple, and (I believe) a large ring in the nether regions (not, I believe) a Prince Albert. The first time he was about to fly for work after this, he was about to step through the metal scanners at the airport, when he remembered the new metalwork.. and decided to go to the gents first. Fortunately he had opted for rings with some type of screw-on ball fitting, to ease with cleaning them (or the pierced hole) or something..I didn't ask. I don't know if the type of metal would have triggered the sensors or not.. but I don't think he was looking forward to having to strip down far enough to show them what the metal was...
There are some interesting viewpoints expressed here.. mostly US, I guess. Personally, I would have to wonder if you are a creative person, why you would want to work for a company which assumes that suits somehow makes for better IT skills, and hence expects their IT people to wear them. Clean tidy casual should be the requirement for anyone not dealing personally with customers, and what is suitable for them depends on the customer. Anything which makes people less comfortable is likely to distract them from doing what they are paid for.. the good use of their good minds
Coverable tats probably works best anyway, as I believe tats fade faster with exposure to sunlight. Of course this assumes that you can find a tattoo that you think you will be happy with for the rest of your life (including change in body shape over the years).
As an observation, I worked as a consultant in NY in the securities industry, and while the company staff all wore suits, nobody seemed to have a problem with the Aussie wearing dayglo (smart) casual clothes, or having a plaited ponytail. On day one of the system going live, I wore a jet-black dress shirt covered in kaleidoscopic patterns, but they still insisted in me being in all the pics taken (departmental, whole company blah blah), in among all the suits.
all of which seem to include big numbers of IT people (not sure about slashdotters though). Actually, huge numbers of IT people seem to play musical instruments. Admittedly I do take my laptop onboard when diving, so I can edit my digital vid footage while on the trip.
Also snowboarding, gardening, backpacking (not sure about the IT/slashdot factor of these).
Mind you, living in Australia might help with being able to do many of these hobbies yearround. Besides, as discussed with a US slashdotter, the "geeky" aspect of IT is more common there than here.. I know a lot of fellow IT people here who go for a surf before or after work.. hardly a geek activity.
I have had a 22" cinema display for four years (one of Apples oldest LCDs), running many hours a day (main machine) with no burn-in. I have a G4 Powerbook over a year old with no problems, and the two+ year old G4 powerbook it replaced (sold to a friend) has no problem either.
I also know a few people with LCD iMacs, with no problems.
Sounds like a dubious rumour to me.
Slashdot Mirror
There are some interesting viewpoints expressed here.. mostly US, I guess. Personally, I would have to wonder if you are a creative person, why you would want to work for a company which assumes that suits somehow makes for better IT skills, and hence expects their IT people to wear them. Clean tidy casual should be the requirement for anyone not dealing personally with customers, and what is suitable for them depends on the customer. Anything which makes people less comfortable is likely to distract them from doing what they are paid for.. the good use of their good minds
Coverable tats probably works best anyway, as I believe tats fade faster with exposure to sunlight. Of course this assumes that you can find a tattoo that you think you will be happy with for the rest of your life (including change in body shape over the years).
As an observation, I worked as a consultant in NY in the securities industry, and while the company staff all wore suits, nobody seemed to have a problem with the Aussie wearing dayglo (smart) casual clothes, or having a plaited ponytail. On day one of the system going live, I wore a jet-black dress shirt covered in kaleidoscopic patterns, but they still insisted in me being in all the pics taken (departmental, whole company blah blah), in among all the suits.
Also snowboarding, gardening, backpacking (not sure about the IT/slashdot factor of these).
Mind you, living in Australia might help with being able to do many of these hobbies yearround. Besides, as discussed with a US slashdotter, the "geeky" aspect of IT is more common there than here.. I know a lot of fellow IT people here who go for a surf before or after work.. hardly a geek activity.
And, of course drinking (copious amounts), reading (some SF, lots not)
I have had a 22" cinema display for four years (one of Apples oldest LCDs), running many hours a day (main machine) with no burn-in. I have a G4 Powerbook over a year old with no problems, and the two+ year old G4 powerbook it replaced (sold to a friend) has no problem either. I also know a few people with LCD iMacs, with no problems. Sounds like a dubious rumour to me.