For anyone who isn’t knowledgeable on how tattoo artists operate, if you don’t own the studio, you usually have to pay to rent a space in one or pay a percentage to the owner from whatever you earn (duhhh). They can supply disposable items if they want, but they don’t have to.
For me personally I’ve worked in 4 studios, and it’s been gruelling. 3/4 of them I have been on a 50/50 split. Imagine tattooing someone the whole work day, 6 hour+ for (let’s say) £300, awesome right? No, you walk away with £150, back pain, mentally drained, and annoyed because the person who didn’t do any of that work just hoovered up half of what you made.
Now this is just my experience, and I’m sure a lot of people are happy where they work, but this is how a lot of tattoo studios operate.
I know a lot of people think it’s such a ‘cool’ job, and so ideal rather than a normal employed job, but in a lot of cases it isn’t! I am now not working, I have been left with nerve damage on the left side of my spine, and 2 slipped discs.