TRAINING RESOURCES · CHOOSING A TATTOO COURSE
How to Choose a Tattoo Course
A tattoo course takes real time and money, and a lot of course descriptions sound the same. This checklist gives you the questions to ask before you enrol: who teaches, how hygiene is covered, how much of the course is hands-on, what the student work shows and what’s actually included.
SCOPE OF THIS ENTRY
This guide covers five areas you can compare. Each one comes with plain questions you can ask any provider, including us. A good course will answer them clearly and in writing.
A · B
TRAINERS
Who teaches, and how they teach
A course is only as good as the person working beside you at the station. Ask for specifics, not adjectives.
Who will actually run each session?
Where can you see the trainer’s own fine line work?
How is feedback given while you practise?
Which credentials are stated, and how can you check them?
HYGIENE & SAFETY
How hygiene is taught
Hygiene should be a structured part of the course that you practise throughout, not a single slide on the first day.
Is infection control taught as its own part of the course?
Do you practise barrier protection and workstation setup yourself?
Is sharps handling and disposal covered step by step?
Are you pointed to the requirements that apply in your state or territory?
C
How much of the course is hands-on
Fine line work lives in the hand. Hand speed, skin tension and needle depth only improve with repetition and feedback. Ask how much of the course you spend at a station, what you practise on, and whether you learn machine setup and needle choice with the equipment in front of you. If you’re new to tattooing, ask how the early sessions build control before any detailed work begins.
D
Student work and what's included
Student work shows you what the teaching actually produces. A written list of inclusions shows you what you’re paying for. Compare the two columns below side by side for any course you’re considering.
WORTH ASKING FOR
Work clearly labelled as student work
Examples from different stages of learning, not only the best piece
A written list of inclusions before you pay
A clear answer on whether equipment, practice skins and materials are supplied
WORTH QUESTIONING
Stock photography presented as student results
Inclusions described only as “everything you need”
Certificates or accreditation mentioned without saying who issues them
Promised income, bookings or jobs after completion
E
FINAL CHECK
Check that every claim can be verified
Before you commit, go back through what a provider has told you and separate what’s written down from what was only implied. Prices, durations, certificates, accreditation and inclusions should all be stated clearly, in writing, by the provider.
☐ Price and what it covers, in writing
☐ Course duration and how the sessions are structured
☐ Who issues any certificate, and what it does and does not mean
☐ Trainer credentials you can check yourself
☐ Local health requirements you will still need to meet