He wants to become Muslim but he works as a tattoo artist
Question

                I am a tattoo artist who is interested in Islam and would like to take my shahada. While I am aware that tattooing is considered haram, this is my profession for the past 15 years and I dont know what else I could do to support my family. Can I become a Muslim and remain in my profession?.
Praise be to Allah.
      Firstly: 

    The greatest blessing that Allah can bestow upon His slave is 
    to enable him to discover Islam and open his heart to believe in Him and to 
    submit to Him. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the 
    meaning):

    “And whomsoever Allâh wills to 
    guide, He opens his breast to Islâm, and whomsoever He wills to send astray, 
    He makes his breast closed and constricted, as if he is climbing up to the 
    sky. Thus Allâh puts the wrath on those who believe not”

    [al-An‘aam 6:125]. 

    Shaykh al-Sa‘di (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

    Allah says – explaining to His slaves the sign of a person 
    being blessed and guided and the sign of a person being doomed and 
    misguided: if his heart is open to Islam and is filled with the light of 
    faith and certainty, and he feels at ease with that in himself and he loves 
    good and does it willingly, and he enjoys it and does not find it 
    burdensome, this is a sign that Allah has guided him and blessed him by 
    enabling him to follow the straight path. 

    And the sign of the one whom Allah wishes to leave astray is 
    that he finds his heart constricted and he feels uneasy with ideas of faith, 
    knowledge and certainty; his heart is immersed in specious arguments and 
    whims and desires, and no goodness can reach him; his heart is not open to 
    doing good. In his constriction it is as if he is climbing up to the sky, 
    i.e., as if he has been made to climb up to the sky, which he is reluctant 
    to do.  

    This reason, the fact that they do not believe, is what 
    dictated that Allah should put the wrath on them, because they closed the 
    door of mercy and goodness for themselves. This is a rule that does not 
    change. The one who gives (in charity) and fears Allah and testifies to the 
    truth, Allah will show him the path of ease, but whoever is miserly and 
    thinks he does not need any guidance and disbelieves in the truth, Allah 
    will show him the path of evil. 

    End quote from Tafseer al-Sa‘di, 272. 

    We ask Allah to guide you and open your heart to Islam, and 
    to bless you by enabling you to submit to Him and accept His religion. 

    Secondly: 

    Your entering Islam is something that is obligatory and there 
    can be no delay or hesitation, because it is the way to eternal happiness 
    and salvation from disbelief and eternity in Hellfire. So there is no room 
    for choice in that regard, and you should not place any obstacle in the way, 
    no matter what it is. Rather you should hasten to enter Islam straight away, 
    and throw off the life of heedlessness and confusion. When you do ghusl 
    (full ablution) and pray and prostrate before Allah, you will realise the 
    difference between being a person who is a slave to Allah the Almighty 
    Creator, and being a person who is a slave to his own self and his whims and 
    desires. 

    Perhaps you think now that you will never overcome the haraam 
    deed that is tattooing, but we believe that when you become Muslim, you will 
    gain an amazing strength by which you will attain victory over your nafs 
    (self) and you will find your freedom and pleasure in obeying the command of 
    your Lord and sacrificing worldly gains and pleasures to please Him. 

    Entering into the new religion means that one is breaking 
    free from constraint, constriction, humiliation and a life of hardship.  

    It is freeing one’s soul to soar in a vast world which can 
    hardly encompass his joy and happiness, and one will be prepared to 
    sacrifice what is dear and precious in order to retain this happiness. 

    Life is filled with dozens and hundreds of stories and cases 
    in which people -- after becoming Muslim -- were able to overcome habits and 
    attitudes that had been deeply rooted in their lives, such as zina 
    (fornication, adultery) and drinking alcohol; giving up such things is much 
    harder than giving up a job or profession. 

    Islam instils in the hearts of its followers the certainty 
    that Allah is the Sovereign, the Provider Who provides for His slave from sources they could not imagine, and He does not disappoint anyone who puts his hope in Him.

    “And whosoever fears Allaah and keeps his duty to Him, He 
    will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty).

    3. And He will provide him from (sources) he never could 
    imagine. And whosoever puts his trust in Allaah, then He will suffice him. 
    Verily, Allaah will accomplish his purpose. Indeed Allaah has set a measure 
    for all things”

    [al-Talaaq 65:2-3]. 

    These are not just words aimed at stirring up emotions; 
    rather it is truth that one must believe in. Allah is the Creator and 
    Sovereign of all things, and He has promised His slave that He will provide 
    for him and suffice him and grant him happiness, if he fears Him and obeys 
    Him. Allah never breaks His promise and what is beyond His power when He is 
    Able to do all things? 

    Do you think that Allah would grant you provision when you 
    disbelieve in Him and are disobeying His commands, then when you believe in 
    Him and make sacrifices for the sake of His religion, He would abandon and 
    forsake you?? 

    O slave of Allah: 

    You must have heard of Makkah (Mecca), where our Prophet 
    Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was born, to which 
    pilgrimage is performed to the sacred House of Allah, which is the fifth 
    pillar of Islam (Hajj = pilgrimage). 

    Have you heard of the well of Zamzam from which water springs 
    in Makkah? 

    Do you know the story behind this amazing water, which has 
    continued flowing for thousands of years until today? 

    It is an amazing story, which is like your story to a large 
    extent. 

    The Prophet of Allah Ibraaheem (Abraham -- peace be upon 
    him), took his wife Haajar (Hagar), the mother of Ismaa‘eel (Ishmael -- 
    peace be upon him) to settle her in the place that would become the location 
    of Makkah (Mecca); it was an uninhabited place at that time, with no 
    inhabitants, no water, no agriculture, nothing…

    … Then Ibraaheem brought Haajar and her son Ismaa’eel when 
    she was still breastfeeding him, to a place near the Ka’bah under a tree on 
    the spot of Zamzam, at the highest place in the mosque. During those days 
    there was nobody in Makkah, nor was there any water. So he left them there 
    and left with them a leather bag containing some dates, and a small 
    water-skin containing some water, and set out homeward. Ismaa’eel’s mother 
    followed him saying, “O Ibraaheem! Where are you going, leaving us in this 
    valley where there is no person whose company we may enjoy, nor is there 
    anything (to enjoy)?” She repeated that to him many times, but he did not 
    look at her. Then she asked him, “Has Allaah commanded you to do this?” He 
    said, “Yes.” She said, “Then He will not forsake us,” and went back while 
    Abraham proceeded onwards. When he reached al-Thaniyah where they could not 
    see him, he turned to face the Ka’bah, and raising both hands, invoked Allah 
    saying the following prayer:  

    “O our Lord! I have made some of my offspring to dwell in 
    an uncultivable valley by Your Sacred House (the Ka‘bah at Makkah) in order, 
    O our Lord, that they may perform As-Salaah (Iqaamat-as-Salaah). So fill 
    some hearts among men with love towards them, and (O Allaah) provide them 
    with fruits so that they may give thanks”

    [Ibraaheem 14:37].

    Ismaa’eel’s mother went on breastfeeding Ismaa’eel and 
    drinking from the water (she had). When the water in the water-skin had all 
    been used up, she became thirsty and her child also became thirsty. She 
    started looking at him (i.e. Ismaa’eel) tossing in agony. She left him, for 
    she could not endure looking at him, and found that the mountain of al-Safa 
    was the nearest mountain to her on that land. She stood on it and started 
    looking at the valley keenly so that she might see somebody, but she could 
    not see anybody. Then she descended from al-Safa and when she reached the 
    valley, she tucked up her robe and ran in the valley like a person in 
    distress and trouble, till she crossed the valley and reached al-Marwa where 
    she stood and started looking, expecting to see somebody, but she could not 
    see anybody. She repeated that (running between al-Safa and al-Marwa) seven 
    times.  

    Ibn ‘Abbaas said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah 
    be upon him) said, “This is the (origin of) the people’s saa’i (walking) 
    between them between them (i.e. al-Safa and al-Marwa).” When she reached al-Marwa 
    (for the last time) she heard a voice and she said to herself “Shh!” and 
    listened attentively. She heard the voice again and said, “O, (whoever you 
    may be)! You have made me hear your voice; have you got something to help 
    me?” Then she saw an angel at the place of Zamzam, digging the earth with 
    his heel (or his wing), until water appeared. She started to make something 
    like a basin around it, using her hand in this way, and started filling her 
    water-skin with water with her hands, and the water was flowing out after 
    she had scooped some of it. 

    Ibn ‘Abbaas said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah 
    be upon him) said, “May Allah have mercy on the mother of Ismaa’eel! Had she 
    let Zamzam (flow without trying to control it) (or had she not scooped from 
    that water) (to fill her water-skin), Zamzam would have been a stream 
    flowing on the surface of the earth.” And he said: “The angel said to her, 
    ‘Do not be afraid of being neglected, for this is the House of Allah which 
    will be built by this boy and his father, and Allah never neglects His 
    people’…” 

    The story was narrated at length in Saheeh al-Bukhaari, 
    3364. 

    See how the mother of Ismaa‘eel (peace be upon him) had 
    certain faith that Allah would not forsake them so long as Ibraaheem did 
    what Allah commanded him to do. 

    Look at the angel who came to her to bring forth water for 
    her and her thirsty child from the depths of the earth; He said to her: Do 
    not be afraid of being neglected … 

    So do not be afraid of being neglected, for Allah, may He be 
    glorified and exalted, is too generous and kind for that and He is greater 
    than you can ever imagine. 

    This does not apply only to you; rather this is something 
    that is repeated with thousands of Muslim people... They are afraid to 
    repent and follow the path of righteousness because they are working in 
    haraam jobs, in banks that deal in riba (usury), or in casinos, or in haraam 
    types of entertainment, and so on. The Shaytaan makes them fear poverty and 
    makes them think that there is no alternative way of earning a living, as 
    Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Shaitân (Satan) threatens 
    you with poverty and orders you to commit Fahshâ (evil deeds, illegal sexual 
    intercourse, sins); whereas Allâh promises you Forgiveness from Himself and 
    Bounty, and Allâh is All-Sufficient for His creatures' needs, All-Knower” 
    [al-Baqarah 2:268]. 

    But reality demonstrates that most of those who repent find 
    that opportunities to earn a halaal income open up for them that they could 
    never imagine. 

    Hence we say: hasten to become Muslim and free yourself from 
    the shackles of disbelief; remove its darkness from your eyes and save 
    yourself from the Fire. Do not fear poverty when you are under the 
    protection of the Lord of the Worlds, the Sovereign Whose stores are never 
    empty. And be certain that He will never forsake His slaves or abandon His 
    people and close friends. 

    Let us assume, for argument’s sake, that you do not find any 
    halaal means of earning a living after you become Muslim, so you go back to 
    your haraam job. What comparison can there be between your situation before 
    and your situation after? It is a comparison between a believing Muslim who 
    affirms the oneness of Allah but commits sin, and a person who disbelieves 
    in Allah. There is no comparison between them at all. The wise man, if he 
    chooses between two bad things or two evils, will choose the lesser of the 
    two. So he will not choose a combination of disbelief and sin; rather he 
    will choose Islam and guidance, and if he falls into sin after he 
    disciplines himself in obedience to Allah, then in that case he will have 
    the hope of forgiveness. 

    However we say that this is only an assumption; we think that 
    Allah will honour you, provide for you and bestow upon you from His bounty 
    that which you cannot imagine, because He is the Most Generous, the Kind, 
    the Most Merciful Who says (interpretation of the meaning):

    “Whoever works righteousness, whether male or female, 
    while he (or she) is a true believer (of Islâmic Monotheism) verily, to him 
    We will give a good life (in this world with respect, contentment and lawful 
    provision), and We shall pay them certainly a reward in proportion to the 
    best of what they used to do (i.e. Paradise in the Hereafter)”

    [al-Nahl 16:97]. 

    Finally, the best news you can give us is the news that you 
    have become Muslim and a believer, and we are waiting for this wonderful 
    news. 

    O Allah, open his heart to faith and guide his heart to 
    Islam, and bestow upon him the bounty of Your mercy. 

    And Allah knows best.