Salary & Benefits of Being a Body Piercer
Body piercers use tools to puncture safely through tissues of the body for aesthetic purposes. These workers do not have high salaries, in most cases earning $50,000 or less at the time of publication. However, these personal appearance artists do receive some additional benefits that compensate somewhat for the lower pay rates, and the best piercers can earn well above the $50,000 mark.
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Typical Pay
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics groups body piercers with personal care and service workers. Piercers and others in the category earned an average yearly salary of $23,070 per year in May 2010. This works out to $11.09 hourly. In the personal care services industry specifically, the average was $21,630 per year, or $10.40 per hour. Another source, bodypiercingnews.com, claims that fees of $40 to $50 per piercing were typical in August 2010. The Career Search website asserts the average salary in 2011 was $50,000. Still another source, the Body Piercing Secrets website, says that the average yearly compensation for a body piercer was $35,000 in 2009.
Range
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The BLS reports that body piercers and other workers in their category made $16,270 annually at the 10th percentile in May 2010. At the 25th percentile, piercers made $17,980 annually, while pay at the median was $20,360 per year. Those at the 75th percentile made $24,950 per year, while those at the 90th percentile earned $34,720. Bodypiercingnews.com asserts that established piercers may earn up to $100 per hour, while Body Piercing Secrets says that owners of piercing salons may earn $100,000 or more.
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Pay by Region
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The highest pay for those in the field in May 2010, according to the BLS, was $40,580 in Rhode Island. The next highest rate, $36,470 per year, was in Alaska. Pay in the District of Columbia, New York and Maryland was $35,220, $32,940 and $31,630 per year, respectively. The lowest pay for body piercers in May 2010, $17,900 per year, was in Puerto Rico. Pay in North Carolina and Georgia was similar at $18,300 and $18,400 per year, respectively. In Arkansas, piercers made $18,540 annually, while piercers in Nebraska earned $18,660 per year.
Other Benefits
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Body piercers sometimes receive paid vacation and health coverage from the salon in which they work. If the piercer is self-employed, he has to cover these expenses on his own. Customers often provide body piercers with tips in the same way clients tip other service workers. The amount of the tip varies based on what the customer is willing to provide based on his assessment of the service. At some salons, body piercers have access to free trials of products provided by manufacturers or receive discounts. For example, they might get samples of skin care lotions or specific jewelry items.
Considerations
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Salons often take a cut of whatever a piercer earns. Additionally, piercers routinely charge different fees based on the body part on which they work. For instance, routine ear piercings usually cost less than an intimate piercing. This has to do with the type of tissue, risk of infection and skill necessary to work at various angles. Even when a piercer has a loyal following, it is difficult to predict what earnings will be to some extent for this reason.
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References
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