dreads and jobs

I am a nurse at the city hospital, i let my boss know i was getting dreadlocks and after her saying ''i dont know'', she said '' i trust that you will keep it neat and tidy at work so you can have any hairstyle you want'', i was relieved and excited, i started the process the next day!

I'm going to school to be a early childhood educationist but intend to go on and be able to teach K-8. I'm definately on the end of wanting to teach the younger ones tho (before the attitude problems *wink*) Our schools around here really can't be all that picky because there are not so many people for the jobs, especially if i do something like headstart that is state based,my daughter will be in headstart around the same time I'm graduating so hoping i can get my foot in then! This town is pretty judgemental when I worked at the gas station i was only allowed to have "natural" colored hair, and when I worked at a dollar store i was not allowed to have anything in or around my hair! GAH!

Interesting thread! I'm a civil servant, I work in a city hospital. I've been there for 6 years and fortunately for me, there's not much they can do about my hair no matter what I do to it. The funny thing is that I'm on maternity leave right now so by the time I get back to work this will be a definite surprise to them :0)

i can share my experiences a little. ive had some dificulties with thediscrimination(though ive never once had a negative comment said to me about them). I recently had a job interview at an old call center i worked at for 2 1/2 years. they ended up going with a new recruit that had "better experience". how could a new recruit be more of a fit for them than the person that did the same job youre reapplying for for almost 3 years at the same location.. anyway, so also when i go into a business to ask for an application they just tell me "we're not hiring, sorry" and dont offer me an app. i have my friend go in 20 mins later and he gets an app and they always say theyre either taking applications or hiring, so im sure it has something to do with my dreads. keep in mind since i got my dreads i moved from the city to a small town about 20 miles outside of the city where theyre not used to people like us. just my experiences maybe it will help someone

awesome knotty, congrats!! well, here's a little update - i stopped by my job the other day to take care of some business in HR and i popped in to my office to say hey to everyone and they all said 'wow! look at that hair!' it was pretty funny, they weren't phased by it at all - and it's kinda crazy looking right now. on the other hand, my friends and family are kind of buggin out over it. my daughter (she's 10) says 'mom, don't do it!! i like your normal hair better..' i told her this is my normal hair, lol!!

I am a direct support professional in the field of developmental disabilities & deal with behaviors on a daily basis. Since being in this field, my hair has always caught my clients' attention for whatever reason. I've been yanked around by my hair before, but I've learned that with certain behaviors, it's better to just either wear my hair up or keep it covered. But then there's the clients who literally throw a fit if I do cover my hair, and do anything in their power to uncover it. Luckily, I've done well at handling incidents involving my hair, & I hope it stays that way as my locks come in. So far it seems like my clients are even more intrigued by my hair as it's changing, but they've remained gentle.

soaringeagle said:

physical therapy wont matter one bit, i know ppl in the field with dreads.. the only way it would matter is with mr (mental retardation) or severe developmental/behavoiral problems if they like to grab a handhul lf hair and pull

ihaven't experianced an negative effects at work yet. but my dreads are still very short, and easilycoverable.

i mayrun into aproblem when theyget longer.

but that's beside the point, which is:

thedean at my collegehas dreads,they are very skinny and well kept,so it gives here a very professional look.

Dreads wont be a problem at my job, one I am a manager at an agency that provides services to those with autism. my other job I care for people with MR. I have tattoo and piercings and it's never been a problem either

This is in the 'you can do it' category. Today I finished filling out the paperwork at Manpower, the temp agency, to get hired for a second job. I already have one part time job but I need another.I had an advantage because I had a job with them in the past, so they already knew me. I wasn't applying for a job with total strangers. But still, I felt insecure because I have locks now and I look even LESS 'neat and tidy' than I used to look. (I've always been a little sloppy and have always had 'non-mainstream grooming.') I wore my locks in sort of a french braid wrapped into a bun and it looked about as neat and tidy as it's going to get (other than, say, wearing a hat over them, but I can't stand hats, and the most I might wear would be a loose kerchief or something.)My locks are messy because I am doing a no shampoo neglect method, and I don't twist or do anything to the roots. So I have loose hairs, which don't bother me - I sort of like them that way. But the only thing that makes me feel insecure is the greasiness. You can't tell that the locks or roots are greasy, but the loose hair strands look greasy. So I did the best I could to just tuck the loose hairs back over my ears. I was feeling anxious and insecure at first.I didn't get the 'ick' look from either of the neat-and-tidy office ladies who helped me finish filling out my application and doing the tests that I had to do. They were pleased that I did well on the computer tests and they didn't seem to express much disdain or displeasure about my hair. I didn't get the 'We need to have a talk about your hygiene' feeling from either of them. (Note: I am not merely wearing unwashed locks, I also have a female mustache and I don't wear deodorant, so, just about every possible thing that can 'go wrong' with my hygiene has indeed gone wrong.)I am proud to be natural, but very insecure and self-conscious when I go into environments where everyone else looks tidy, especially if it's other females. I feel much more secure when I'm with other people who are also natural looking or sloppy or long-haired. There are some jobs where they tolerate a variety of grooming styles, like computer programmer jobs, but I never did finish learning computer programming (I have learned only a tiny bit, in the past).Before I left my apartment, I was looking and looking and looking in the mirror, trying to arrange this or that strand of hair, and taking photos of myself. I guess I was less scared than I have been at times in the past, though, when I used to have to apply for jobs when I had no work experience. At least now, I have experience and I can pass some tests.I got through the paperwork and she offered me a temp assignment right away, but I have to work out the schedule with my other job, so I might not be able to take the assignment just yet. But still, I will have a second job soon even if I can't take this particular assignment.So it is a relief. Now I will have less worrying about money and paying my bills. I will go into the temp job and I'll worry about my looks for a couple days, but I'll get used to the people there, and they'll get used to me, so hopefully I will calm down and not be so anxious soon.I posted this because I've seen other people sometimes worrying about what will happen when they apply for jobs while wearing dreadlocks. I think that many employers are surprisingly a lot more tolerant than you think they are. Maybe not all of them, but lots of them, will hire you anyway.(On a totally irrelevant side note, my Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince audio CD came in the mail today! Yay! So I have something to listen to tonight. I've been listening to all the books on CD and really enjoying them.)
updated by @nicole-binns: 07/22/15 05:21:47AM

that all depends on what surrounding you live in..for example here in croatia especially in smaller cities people have very limited oppinions about dreads.i once heard two women talking about some guy with dreads and they said he is a drug addict(they saw him first time in their life)!!can you believe,just because he got dreads!! and my friend couldnt get job in center for informations(for tourists).

I think that's really sad. don't want to even mention my grandmothers opinion..:P