Career

A Sim on the Criminal career- anything to bring home the simoleons.

Sims need a job to pay the bills and buy things. There are many careers available.

Getting a Job

A Sim may get a job by reading a newspaper or by surfing the internet. 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 don't change at midnight, and remain available until the next day's paper comes.
• The career tracks that came with the University expansion are only available to Sims who have graduated from University: Paranormal, Natural Science, Show Business, and Artist.
• 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 your Sim is most likely not a university graduate, and the missing jobs would be available if he were.

Career Tracks

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 getting promotions.

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 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.

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.

Demotions

If a Sim's job performance drops too low, he or she may be demoted. In The Sims 2, Sims may also get demoted if they have a low aspiration level or lose too many skill points. In addition, some chance cards in The Sims 2 can result in a Sim being demoted or even fired. Sims who are demoted or fired will have a major drop in fun and comfort and spend a real-life minute moping by the pavement. They will also get a bad memory and autonomous reactions will occur in which the Sim will start crying and thinking about the demotion throughout the day. If it happens due to a chance card, the Sim will come home immediately.

In The Sims and The Sims 2, Sims who've been demoted get paid for that day's work at their new job's rate.

Chance cards

Any time a Sim is at work (or sometimes school for children or teens), they can encounter a chance card. Chance cards consist of text describing a predicament or decision a Sim must make. The player can choose one of two options (or press ignore) to complete the scenario. A good or bad result is then randomly determined. (The higher the level in the career, the higher the stakes). Ignoring a chance card has no good or bad effects.  An Aspiration Benefit (can only be used if you have Freetime expansion pack) called Business Instinct gives your Sim an 80% chance of getting the good end of a chance card.  Of the two options on a Chance Card, it is likely that one will give you or take away money or skill points, and that the other will deal with promotion or demotion.  With practice, you can tell which option will give you which.  An Aspiration Benafit (avalible only with Freetime expansion pack) called Business Instinct gives your Sim an 80% chance of getting the better end of a chance card.

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 social 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.