Profession
A firefighter responding to an emergency
Profession (also known as active career) is an aspect of career which players have to direct Sims to do their work instead of the basic careers where Sims only enter a rabbit hole[TS3] or off-world[TS4] and gain performance based on several factors. This feature is first introduced in The Sims 3: Ambitions, and is the main theme of the expansion pack. Further expansion packs also provide more unique professions. Professions are re-introduced with The Sims 4: Get to Work, which includes three new professions. The Sims 4: City Living introduces semi-active careers, where players can choose to have Sims work at home or off-world.
The Sims 3[]
Sims can find a profession from newspaper and computer but some professions can be found in other ways. Sims can go to the fire station to work as a firefighter, the salon or ask a stylist to work in the stylist profession, the city hall to work as an architectural designer, the science lab to work in the ghost hunter profession, the police station to work in the investigator profession, or ask a proprietor to work in performer professions. The only way to be employed in daycare is from the newspaper or computer.
The major point of profession is that players must direct Sims to perform certain tasks. They no longer go to rabbit holes, and instead, players can actually see what Sims do at work. Professions aren't usually tied to a workplace. Sims earn weekly stipend every Sunday. Professional Simoleon Booster lifetime reward enables Sims to earn more weekly stipend. Additionally, Sims will earn bonuses after finishing their task (such as extinguishing fire, completing a renovation, performing on stages, etc.) or performing for tips[TS3:ST]. Sims can also earn raise if they work hard enough.
List of professions[]
| Icon | Profession | Workdays | Workplace | Pack |
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Acrobat | Open work hours | None |
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Architectural designer | Monday - Friday | Clients' homes |
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Daycare | Monday - Thursday | At home |
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Firefighter | Monday - Friday | Fire station |
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Ghost hunter | Monday - Friday | None |
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Investigator | Open work hours | None |
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Lifeguard | Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday | Any beach |
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Magician | Open work hours | None |
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Singer | Open work hours | None |
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Stylist | Tuesday - Saturday | Salon |
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Responsibilities and job experience[]
Job experience panel
Sims have broader and more flexible ways to earn performance. Professions aren't provided with work performance; Sims will earn job experience instead based on their completion of responsibilities. Most professions aren't attached to certain skills, though high skills might help Sims with their job.
Every time Sims perform any of the responsibilities, such as doing a stakeout in the investigator profession, Sims will earn some experience. Once Sims gain enough experience, they will instantly get promoted. This is a flexible way to be promoted, since Sims don't necessarily have to attend their workplace for a promotion.
Differences between professions and normal careers[]
| Career | Profession |
|---|---|
| Sims enter rabbit hole and have career tones (Business as Usual, Work Hard, etc.) | Sims perform actions and must complete tasks |
| Sims must go to work regularly | Some professions have open work hours, which means Sims can perform their work at any time |
| Sims get salary per hour, which can only be earned if they go to work | Sims earn weekly stipend and some bonus if they complete their task |
| There are up to 4 performance factors that range from horrible to excellent, which will determine how fast the performance bar increase or decrease | There are 3 performance responsibilities. Anytime they're performed, the experience bar will increase. |
| Sims will get promoted or demoted based on their career performance | Sims' career performance never decreases, so it's impossible for a Sim to get demoted |
Semi-active careers[]
Several careers have some elements from professions, which make them semi-active careers. This adds a variation to the careers so they have special tasks outside the rabbit holes.
- If The Sims 3: Ambitions is installed, the medical career has an expanded feature which enables doctors to perform medical checkup over patients. They will sometimes get a task to perform while on the work hour such as vaccination clinics at park.
- In The Sims 3: Late Night, the film career also has tasks around the neighborhood while on the work hour, such as promoting the movie at the bars.
As Sims complete their task, they have to go back to work again. Otherwise, they'll be considered missing work.
The Sims 4[]
Professions return in The Sims 4: Get to Work as active careers. Active careers are different from normal careers because they allow the player to follow their Sims to work. Sims can apply for a job in an active career from a cellphone or computer. Sims in active career fields are also always on-call and can be called in to work at any time.
The first three active careers, introduced in Get to Work, were detective, doctor, and scientist. The Sims 4: Get Famous, The Sims 4: Dream Home Decorator and The Sims 4: Life & Death added three more active careers, respectively, actor, interior decorator and reaper, while The Sims 4: High School Years added the ability to follow teens to school at Copperdale High School.
Promotions in Active Careers[]
To gain promotions, Sims that are followed to work perform their job duties by being tasked with activities related to the active career.
In the Detective career, Sims investigate crime scenes and collect clues to nail down their suspects. Back at the Police Station, Sims can interrogate suspects, analyze clues, review their notes, and book suspects into jail if they have enough evidence to determine them guilty.
In the Doctor career, Sims initially diagnose and treat patients that come to Willow Creek Hospital by running tests to determine the cause of the illness. They may also have to attend to emergencies, such as a patient passing out in the lobby, and can do house calls. Further in their career, Sims will perform surgeries on sick patients.
In the Scientist career, Sims experiment with, invent, and create serums and gadgets, and can even invent a wormhole generator that Sims can use to explore Sixam. At FutureSim Labs, Sims can utilize scientific objects such as the Invention Constructor and Chemistry Lab, both of which only Sims in this career field may interact with, and the Chemical Analyzer.
In the Actor career, Sims attend auditions and perform acting gigs. Actors and actresses must join one of two talent agencies, A.I. Staffing Agency or Everyday Extras Talent Agency, to start getting auditions. The agency will send notifications suggesting auditions Sims can attend so they can get gigs to generate an income. They are also tasked with getting their costume fitted, hair styled, and must practice their lines for gigs filmed at Plumbob Pictures.
In the Interior Decorator career, Sims use their phones or computer to apply for gigs, which take place 1-2 days after being accepted by the client. Gigs consist of room renovations, room additions, level renovations, level additions, and commercial renovations which all take place at the relevant locations. Sims can only hold one gig at a time and all gigs last 12 hours from 9am to 9pm.
List of active careers[]
Differences between active careers and normal careers[]
| Career | Active Career |
|---|---|
| Sims disappear from the lot and have career tones (Business as Usual, Work Hard, etc.) | Players can follow their Sims to work and must complete tasks |
| Sims get paid based on their rank in the career | Sims get paid based on how well they've worked |
| Sims can't stay at work late | Sims can stay at work late if they wish (in some cases) |
| After being promoted enough, Sims can choose two work branches to follow | Sims don't have two work branches to choose from |
Semi-active careers[]
The Sims 4: City Living introduces the concept of semi-active careers. Instead of always following Sims to work, semi-active careers allow the player to decide each workday if they will follow their Sim to work, let them work from home, or have them take the day off.
With the exception of the Freelancer career, where Sims work entirely from home, almost all regular, non-active careers added after City Living are semi-active. This includes the Style Influencer career added to the base game in Patch 73, but does not include the Salaryperson career from The Sims 4: Snowy Escape. Simfluencer and Video Game Streamer careers, both available to teen Sims, are part-time semi-active careers introduced in The Sims 4: High School Years.
An hour before the work day starts, Sims in semi-active career fields will receive an alarm notification on their phone asking how the Sim will spend the work day. The player can choose for the Sim to "Go to Work", "Work from Home", or "Take the Day Off".
If the Sim works from home, the game will generate two random tasks for them to complete. Completing these tasks will boost the day’s job performance rating which will increase the daily wage payout. If these tasks are not completed, job performance will suffer and there will be no bonus wages added to the day’s pay.
List of semi-active careers[]
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