You can see pictures of dreadlocks in the pictures section of this site.

You don't have to shave your head. There are a couple ways to get dredlocks out, if you haven't used a dread perm
1. The Easiest way: cut your dreads off a little below root and have about 2 inches of hair. You won't have to spend hardly anytime with this, and if you are not partial to your hair then this is a good way for you to do it.
2. Cut the first half of your dread off, from the tip of the dread to the middle. Then soak the rest of the dread in conditioner and comb the dread out. This will take some time, but you will have cut the strongest part of the dread off, so it will be a lot easier to comb the rest out.
3. You just love your long hair and don't want short hair: I can completely understand this, this is probably the way I would choose if I were ever thinking about cutting my dreads off, but I'm not so I don't have to think about it :) Soak the whole dread in conditioner, and comb the dread out. Let me warn you that this will take a lot of time, probably 4 or 5 times longer than it took you to put them in, but if you love your hair, it's completely worth it. Some people will say that you can't do this, but you can, I know a person who did this, and I helped them take some of them out. I didn't stay the whole time, but I know when I came back the next day, they were still working on taking them out.
4. And if you have chosen the silky dread method all you have to do is take out the extensions.

I haven't had a problem with getting a job. But I'm in fashion design, so most people expect me to look different. As long as you go in with a positive attitude, nice clothes, and don't live in a close-minded town you shouldn't have too much of a problem. Sometimes, when I first meet people they have this idea that I am a drug using, problem causing, antisocial person, but then I talk to them and they loosen up and find out that I am not what they thought. The key is, don't take offense and jump on them with anger, realize that you are more open-minded then they are, and show them that you are a great person, with an awesome personality. You might have more of a problem if you were in real estate or something where first impressions and clean-cut people are important. You should check out the book Don't Worry, Be NAPPY! How To Grow Dreadlocks In America And Still Get Everything You WANT!

I've heard that if you soak the dreads in rubbing alcohol for 30 minutes and cover the dreads in a plastic bag and then repeat in one week then it will kill the lice and their eggs. I haven't had lice before so I haven't tried this so I don't know if it works for sure, but it's worth a try, because dreads are part of you and you do not want to give them up easily.

If your hair is a very light blonde then it's really easy. If not, then you have to bleach them first. I have heard of people using regular household bleach, but I have never tried it and I don't think it's a smart idea so I do not recommend it. Go to Wal-Mart or Sally's and get the cheapest hair bleach you can find. I have used Clairol and it worked great. Some bleach will make your hair turn orange, but this one turns you hair a very light blonde. Let the bleach sit in the hair for a while, because you want to make sure you get all the hair, and make sure you squeeze it into the dread when you do it, otherwise the dark hair will show through. Make sure you wash all the bleach out, and wait a day before coloring your hair, because your hair may be very delicate right after you do it. When applying the color, do it the same way you applied the bleach, squeeze it in the dred locks to make sure you get all the hair you can, and make sure you wash all of it out.