Career



Just like anyone in real life, Sims need a job to be able to pay the bills and buy objects. There are many careers available.

Getting a job
A Sim may get a job by reading a newspaper or by using a computer. Sims can also get a part-time job or start in a career track by going to its Community building. A Sim getting a job from the newspaper starts low in the career track, usually at level one (exceptions exist; see below). A Sim getting a job from the computer (the different types of computers work identically) can start higher. (In The Sims, Sims will start at level one whether they get their jobs from the computer or from the newspaper.)


 * A teen who is in private school will start at level 2, even when getting a job from the newspaper.
 * A Sim getting a job from the computer will start at a level that depends on his skills, his number of friends, and whether or not he has a university degree.
 * A Sim with a university degree will start even higher on his career track if his career is one of the preferred ones for his major. This is the only way for an adult to get a job at higher than level 1 (level 2, usually) from the newspaper. A Sim with an appropriate degree who has skills and friends enough to be promoted to the top may use the computer to get a job as high as level 9.
 * The jobs available on the computer change every day at midnight. The jobs available from the newspaper do not change until the next day's paper arrives.
 * The career tracks that came with the University expansion are only available to Sims who have graduated from University. These tracks are: Paranormal, Natural Science, Show Business, and Artist. If a non-graduate is looking, jobs in these tracks will be skipped.
 * In The Sims, three jobs are available from the computer, and one is available from the newspaper. In The Sims 2, five jobs are available from the computer; three from the newspaper. If there are fewer, the Sim is most likely not a university graduate, and the missing jobs would be available if he or she were.
 * Sims may get a job starting with high level by networking.

Career tracks & Professions
The Sims, The Sims 2, The Sims 3, and their expansions each have several career tracks. A career track is a group of jobs with a similar theme that a Sim must progress through by gaining skills and making friends which will lead to promotions. Sims are paid daily after work.

Professions are a broader kind of career introduced in The Sims 3: Ambitions. Players will follow their Sims to work, and complete certain tasks to progress. As with tracks, a Sim must gain experience to advance.

Sims with a profession are paid a stipend per week. Although this seem like a small amount, it is only the base pay. E.G: If a firefighter goes to work on time they will get their weekly pay at the end of the week. But, if the firefighter tends to a fire, they will earn more money which is given to them after or whilst fighting a fire; thus they will earn both a base weekly pay and extra money by doing jobs, or in a firefighters case, tending to fires etc.

Promotions
Sims earn promotions primarily by having the correct skills and enough family friends. The number of family friends they need and the skills they must have are highlighted on the job panel. Still, there are other things which are important when it comes to getting a Sim promoted.
 * A job performance rating of "Excellent", or a maxed job performance bar means a very high chance of promotion if the Sim in question has the friends and skills required for promotion. Job performance increases when a Sim goes to work in a good mood, and can decrease when a Sim goes to work in a poor mood.
 * The chance of a promotion decreases as a Sim advances in his or her career.
 * The chance of a promotion increases if the Sim has a high aspiration level. If a Sim has the required skills and friends, platinum mood will virtually guarantee a promotion.
 * If a Sim has a relative higher up in the career, there is a small chance that relative will pull strings to advance them in the career.
 * If a Sim has a good date with an employee of higher rank in the career, it may affect their chances of getting promoted. It should be noted however that this employee must be at least 2 job levels higher than the Sim being promoted.
 * The chance for a promotion is part of many chance cards.
 * If a teen grows up into an adult and already has a job, they will automatically be promoted.
 * A Sim with good reputation may receive promotion after networking with other Sims.

In The Sims and The Sims 2, Sims who've been promoted get paid for that day's work at their new job's rate. They also get a bonus of two times the new job's daily pay. In The Sims 3, Sims may also get a bonus when they're promoted.

In some career tracks, getting a promotion may result in a Sim being scheduled to work twice in one day. In The Sims, the Sim can miss the carpool for that second time without penalty. In The Sims 2, missing the carpool for that second time can result in a warning, and a drop in job performance. In The Sims 3 the Sim gets a day off if their new schedule would normally require them to work twice in the same day.

Chance cards
In The Sims 2, any time a Sim is at work (or sometimes school for children or teens), they can encounter a chance card. Chance cards encountered at work describe a predicament or situation which requires the Sim to make a decision. The player can choose one of two options (or press ignore) to complete the scenario. Ignoring the card has no effects, but each of the other choices has two possible outcomes. In general, one will be positive and one negative, though for some choices, one outcome will be neutral. Which outcome will occur is randomly determined, but which is more likely varies from card to card. However, one of the aspiration benefits available in FreeTime is Business Instinct, which gives the Sim an 80% chance of getting the better outcome for the choice that was made.

Common negative outcomes are: losing one or more skill points, being fined, being demoted, and being fired. Common positive outcomes are gaining one or more skill points, getting a bonus, and being promoted.

Career reward objects
A new class of item in The Sims 2 is the career reward object. As Sims progress through their careers, they eventually earn a Career Reward Object. Career Reward Objects may let Sims learn skills at a faster rate, or may have other benefits. The Sim who earned the object is not the only one who can use it.

Note: Unless Nightlife or later is installed, Sims who move will lose any Career Reward Objects on their lot, and will have to earn them again. The inventory feature added in Nightlife allows Sims to take reward objects with them when they move - so long as players remember to place them in inventory before moving the Sims.

In The Sims 3, there are no longer career reward objects, but there are still rewards. They are such things as extra money, positive mood/moodlets, and new interactions. Also, there are multiple rewards for each career, rather than just one per career.

Pay raises
Pay raises come with promotion in all the games, but in The Sims 3, pay raises don't end once a Sim reaches the top of a career. Each time a Sim's performance meter fills, the Sim gets a pay raise.

With The Sims 2: FreeTime, a Sim whose primary or secondary aspiration is Fortune can get a higher salary by choosing the Skilled Negotiator aspiration benefit. With The Sims 2: Apartment Life, Sims can get a higher salary from networking with other people.