What to Expect as a Piercing Apprentice
Former piercing apprentice here (currently body piercer). As an apprentice (assuming you can get an apprenticeship) there are quite a few things you need to expect as an apprentice.First of all, expect to be bored for a while. Until you really understand the art of piercing, you probably won't get to touch anyone, except maybe to change their jewelry.You will have a lot to learn. Placement, anatomy, sterile procedure, equipment, jewelry...You have to know it. Stop reading this, pick up grey's anatomy, and start reading.
It helps to compile research on piercing. Read articles from people who've been pierced, professional piercers, talk to local piercers. Learn what people like and what they don't. Learn what works and what doesn't. Keep that in mind when you start.
Once you actually start piercing, during your apprenticeship, which may take months, expect to make mistakes. It's going to happen. You're first piercing might be perfect (mine was), or it might be a fiasco. During my apprenticeship, I botched jewelry transfers, I pierced crooked a few times, I accidentally bent my needle tip and tried to pierce with it, I forgot to give people aftercare. It's okay. Learn from your mistakes. They're important. My first 9 piercings were perfect. My 10th one, I lost my jewelry transfer and almost made my poor friend Kelly pass out trying to shove it through. The guy who apprenticed me was very excited. He was afraid that I wasn't going to make any mistakes. And until you've made them, you can't learn how to fix them.
Eventually, you'll be a piercer. Maybe. If you were good enough. If you are good with people, skilled at your job, adn understand the importance of sterile and safe and high quality. When you are a piercer, don't forget what you learned in your apprenticeship, and don't forget to keep learning. There's always more to learn.
