How to get a job in The Sims 4

Select your Sim. Then use the phone, a computer, or the Career Panel. Each one has a Find a Job action. Pick a career from the list. The Sim goes to work by itself after that.

We read two guides for this post: games.gg (July 25, 2026) and Snooty Sims (November 7, 2023). EA has a help page on careers. It returned an error when we tried to open it on October 14, 2026, so we did not use it. You read this on the LifeSim blog. We make a browser life sim, and we say where our game does not fit.

You have three places to start the search. The two guides agree on them.

The phone is the fastest way, because every Sim has one. Games.gg says that a Sim shows up for each shift without your help once the Sim has joined a career.

Games.gg sorts work into four types. The type decides what you see on the screen.

Careers

The Sim leaves for a shift and comes back later. You see nothing while the Sim is away. Many careers split into two branches at a certain rank.

Professions

You can follow the Sim to work and guide it through tasks. Games.gg says these come from packs such as Get to Work, Life & Death, and Dream Home Decorator.

Part-time jobs

These jobs have a morning shift or an evening shift. Games.gg says they suit teens and Sims that are new to work.

Freelance work

The Sim earns money at home. The guide names writing, painting, and building furniture. The Sim does not go to a work lot.

Snooty Sims lists 12 careers in the base game: Astronaut, Athlete, Business, Criminal, Culinary, Entertainer, Freelancer, Painter, Secret Agent, Style Influencer, Tech Guru, and Writer. That list is from November 2023. A newer update may change it.

The packs add more. Snooty Sims names these:

• Get to Work: Detective, Doctor, Scientist.
• City Living: Critic, Politician, Social Media.
• Seasons: Gardener.
• Get Famous: Actor.
• StrangerVille: Military.
• Island Living: Conservationist.
• Discover University: Education, Engineer, Law.
• Eco Lifestyle: Civil Designer.

Games.gg gives two pay figures. The top weekly pay for the Astronaut career is §15,120. The Business career, Management branch, tops out at §12,000 or more each week. Pay can change, so treat these as the numbers on the day of the guide.

Each level has its own promotion requirements. Both guides say that Work Performance drives most of the progress. The Career Panel shows the job, the schedule, the requirements, and the daily tasks.

Use these actions to raise Work Performance:

• Send the Sim to work on time. Snooty Sims says to avoid fake sick days.
• Finish the Daily Task. Snooty Sims says this speeds up a promotion.
• Keep needs and mood high. Many careers want a state such as Focused or Inspired.
• Train the skills that the job names. Games.gg calls this the fastest route.
• Accept overtime if the job offers it. Games.gg says the Sim stays two extra hours for more performance and more pay.

For the skills, read our Sims 4 skills guide.

Yes, in some cases. Games.gg lists these ways:

• A teen with a B average starts at Level 2. A teen with an A average starts at Level 3.
• A relevant college degree can raise the starting level and the performance.
• The Connections perk raises the starting level by three ranks.
• The Professional Slacker perk removes the risk of losing the job to bad performance.
• The Savant perk raises skill gain by 25%.

We did not check the other pages of the game for these perks. We give them as games.gg states them.

The Sim must quit the current job first. Then the Sim can use Find a Job again. We found this rule in a search summary of the EA help page. We could not open that page to confirm it, so test it in your game.

Yes, but not as a menu. LifeSim has a free random job generator that gives you a job and opens it in the game. There is no Work Performance bar and no promotion table.

If you want a clear career ladder with levels and daily tasks, stay with The Sims 4. If you want your work life to come from the people around you, read how LifeSim works. See also LifeSim vs The Sims.

• The EA help page on careers. It did not open.
• The career list. It is from 2023, and packs since then may add careers.
• The pay figures. They come from one guide.
• The perk effects. They come from one guide.
• The rule on how to quit. It comes from a search summary only.

• games.gg: The Sims 4, how to get a job (July 25, 2026)
• Snooty Sims: Sims 4 careers (November 7, 2023)