The Sims 4: Complete Guide to All Careers, Aspirations & Skills – Part 1
Foreword:
I've been playing The Sims series for a few years now, and being recently at home between jobs, the idea of replaying Sims 4 popped into my head again. Unlike other great players—some are amazing at creating Sims, some at building houses, some at storytelling—as an average player with limited aesthetic sense and skills, I decided to satisfy my perfectionist tendencies and set a small goal: complete all careers, aspirations, and skills. (As an Aquarius, a sign known for short-lived enthusiasm, I have no idea how long I'll stick with this, haha!)
Explanation:
First, this playthrough uses all expansion packs, game packs, and stuff packs up to StrangerVille. I won't list them all out (too lazy). Second, no mods or cheats are used throughout this playthrough—my Sims will have to rely on their own hard work to get rich. Since different career branches in Sims 4 can't be swapped, I need at least two Sims to cover different branches to complete all careers. To make this more efficient, I chose to start their Sim lives as teenagers; I'll explain why when they grow up. Alright, let the brand new life begin!
Creating the Sims
My first Sim is based on myself, but with limited skills, she doesn't look much like me, haha! Though she can't compare to the masterpieces other players create, she's still pretty (at least better looking than me). Since she's a teenager, I went with a youthful style overall. As for makeup—well, I have strong straight-guy tendencies, so my taste isn't great, and you'll have to make do.
The Aspiration choice isn't crucial since it can be changed anytime in the game. My plan is to use the teenage years to complete a social aspiration, so I chose Popularity – Friend of the World as a starting point. For Traits, I really struggled—each one only applies to certain careers, so I just went with my own personality and picked Dog Lover and Good (teenagers can only pick two).
I also had braces when I was around 13 or 14, so I made sure my Sim had them too, hehe~
Everyday: This dress is super cute, isn't it!
Formal: Since she's still a high school student, I didn't want formal wear to look too old, so I chose this pink dress with flats.
Athletic: I was thinking of a sports bra, but then I saw this green hoodie and couldn't resist... The stuff from Cats & Dogs really hits me right in the feels!
Sleep:
Party: This outfit is also super cute, and it feels like she's ready to party at any moment~
Swimwear:
Hot Weather: (I once saw a girl in the school library wearing a top like this in the dead of winter, and she was stunning—I've never forgotten her.)
Cold Weather:
Those are all of Sherry's outfits! She'll be the main character going forward, tackling the higher-paying career branches (with my selfish bias). After creating her, I was completely exhausted and had no interest in making another Sim, so I just randomized the second one and made a few tweaks to get by—everything except body shape can be adjusted later anyway!
My second Sim is an alien—I've never played this life state before, so I'm excited to experience it. And blue or green skin is just so cool!
Moving In
Ding-ding-ding, moving day! I chose the second cheapest 2B apartment in San Myshuno—2B Jasmine Suites. Why not the cheapest one? That goes back to a previous experience. I once saw that apartment, cheaper than 1B and in a fancy building. I noticed its lot trait said "Needs TLC," but I thought it'd be a good chance to practice handiness and get free parts. Then, I started seeing piles of cockroaches in the kitchen and mice running around the bedroom hallway—whether I handled it or called the landlord, nothing worked. I know it's a game, but it was really gross... I later made the mistake of looking up that apartment online, and... yeah. Worse, I read a couple of creepy fan theories about it while playing late at night—it creeped me out so much I deleted the save. This time around, I just took a screenshot for memory.
To save money, I chose Unfurnished when moving in. This brings me to my favorite feature in Sims 4: Styled Rooms. As someone who's terrible at building, this feature is a lifesaver—it satisfies my perfectionism and saves time. Couldn't be more useful.
A quick note on the garden planter by the door. If you want to avoid early contact with vampires, I recommend planting garlic at home. This way, vampires won't sneak in at night to drain your Sim's blood. One of my previous Sims was treated like a living fridge by Count Vlad—he'd show up regularly to feast. After that, every time I saw him at social events, I'd chew him out... As for the Fun need, I debated it too. I thought about saving money by using the phone to fulfill it, but it's too much hassle—Sims only play for a few minutes before I have to keep giving commands. So I bought a stereo. The earbuds are a real gem—except when sleeping, having your Sim listen to music with them on constantly boosts Fun. Super efficient and time-saving. And they're free!
Career
Right after live mode, the first thing is to choose a career. Teen careers include after-school activities (Drama Club, Scouts: unpaid). There are five paid careers for teens; my plan is to pick either babysitter or manual laborer. Both are weekend jobs, so they won't interfere with homework. Early on, it's hard to keep all needs satisfied. So Sherry got the babysitter job, and Chris the manual laborer.
Club
A bit of a cheat: set up your home as a club, and add activities like Do Homework, Be Friendly to Everyone, etc. When Sims do these activities, they earn club points, which can be spent on perks! For teenagers, the first perk to buy is Homework Helper. I also added Cooking, Cleaning, and Repair Items. With Cooking, club members will cook up a storm at your house without spending your money—a great way to save early on. Cleaning and Repair are because too many people using cheap appliances means you'd be exhausted cleaning up yourself, orz. This way, aside from sleep time, your Sim can keep hosting gatherings to rack up points!
Character Values
As a teenager, a Sim should try to max out their five character values to unlock traits (positive or negative). When they become a young adult, they'll gain extra traits. These traits have various effects—I've only maxed out responsibility before. A responsible Sim starts any career at level 3 and automatically completes daily tasks. This time, I'll max out all five values to see what happens.
The five Character Values are:
- Politeness (Rude/Polite)
- Emotional Control (Uncontrolled Emotions/Emotional Control)
- Responsibility (Irresponsible/Responsible)
- Empathy (Unsympathetic/Sympathetic)
- Conflict Resolution (Argumentative/Mediator)
This brings up one downside of apartment living. While it's realistic—not everyone can just buy a house—neighbors are a big problem. Almost every night, they make noise, making your Sim angry, and you have to go knock on their door to sort it out. This easily pushes conflict resolution toward the negative side. But later I decided Chris will be the troublemaker—there's a criminal career to explore anyway. Once the apartment-related aspiration is done and enough money is saved, the Sims can move to a big house!