Strictly speaking, a Goth can have any job that they like. I read somewhere recently that you never see Goth dentists, teachers or bus drivers - but actually, Goths hold down all of the above jobs and more. However, for some jobs it may be necessary to remove piercings, hide tattoos and dye hair a more natural colour than screaming scarlet.
There are some jobs which allow for more, uh, creativity with regards to appearance, and of course there are Goths who hold these sorts of jobs too. Because these Goths tend to be able to be more visually flamboyant, they are noticed more and these lines of work become, in the public's mind, stereotypically Goth jobs.
Yes, there are Goth lawyers, Goth policemen and Goth paramedics, but because they are not obvious and visible, they are overlooked by the public and it is assumed that Goths are all sales assistants in Hot Topic.
Or, of course, one of the following:
Body piercer or tattooist - if you love body mods and are skilled at drawing, this could be your niche; helping others discover the living artwork that they could become. For a fee, of course. On the other hand, I have never figured out why non-Goths assume that alternative-looking people must spend their time 'recruiting' others - has anyone else noticed this? I am not allowed near my young cousins in case I paint their nails black, and one friend's parents are convinced that my life's purpose is to empty a bottle of black dye over her lovely blonde hair. I often wonder if the assumption that anyone with a lot of body mods must modify others for a living is a sort of extension of this utterly daft stereotype.
Singer or musician - if you're a black-clad guy with long hair, chances are that people assume you're in a band. This wouldn't be such a bad thing if they stopped assuming you dropped out of education or work to get there and spend your spare time creating an unholy racket in your parents' basement or garage. There are, indeed, plenty of Goths with musical inclinations - for example our own Lily Peppermint, a classically-trained cellist (amongst other instruments), who is a world apart from the stereotype of unwashed, baggy-jeans-clad teens chanting 'HAIL SATAN' over the sound of a pounding guitar.
Model - all right, yes, a large percentage of Goths, especially the girls, have at some point tried their hand at alternative modelling, and I would suppose that almost all of us have photos of us languishing beside a gravestone hidden in a folder somewhere on our computers. But just because a girl is Goth does not mean she's a Goth model. If she happens to be a Goth model, that does not automatically mean that she will do partially-clad photoshoots. And even if she is a model who is happy and comfortable posing naked, that does not mean she is a Suicide Girl. Not every tattooed, pierced or Goth model is a Suicide Girl!
Film extra - when the movie world needs a bunch of seedy, unsettling or possibly vampiric club denizens, they generally look for Goths, punks, and other multi-pierced people to wander about or dance sexily in the background. Whilst in some cases this could be an example of obvious and slightly offensive stereotyping, I can't get overly irritated about it as you get to be in a film, however briefly, and you might even get paid for it. This could be one situation where stereotyping works in our favour.
Writer or poet - this is another stereotype rooted in truth; yes, many dreamy and creative members of the Goth scene do enjoy writing stories or poetry, but few of us do it by candlelight whilst weeping alone in a darkened room. And whilst Bad Goth Poetry is sadly a fact of life in dark culture, if you happen to have a talent for expressing yourself with words, you really could be the next Poppy Z. Brite or Storm Constantine.
Artist or photographer - as cheesy as artsy black and white shots of cemeteries in the rain are, at the end of the day there is a market. Yes, I for one would buy a big book of pretty cemetery snaps as a coffee table book. Many Goths are artistic by nature, though, which means that the world of Goth art is far from limited to bleak scenes in greyscale.
DJ - there's no shortage of Goth DJs, and no shortage of stereotypes about them either. For example, they are all elitist, pretentious twats who wear sunglasses indoors, and, OK, I did meet one DJ in Southampton who fitted this stereotype like a hand in a glove. However, I have also met some Goth club DJs who are the antithesis of this image. Thankfully.
Haunted tour guide - every quaint old town seems to have a haunted tour, and it certainly adds atmosphere if the tour guide wears a sweeping velvet cloak and skull-topped cane. Actually in York I didn't spot a single haunted tour guide who
wasn't a Goth...
