How to Fast-Track Your Sims 4 Career: A Comprehensive Guide to Cheating

Before many cheats will work, you’ll need to enable testing cheats. Type the following code into the console and press Enter:

testingcheats true

You should receive a confirmation message that cheats are enabled. To disable them later, simply type testingcheats false into the console. This step is essential for most career cheats to function correctly.

Cheat Codes for Career Advancement

The most common use of career cheats is to give your Sims promotions or demotions. These cheats offer a quick way to adjust their career level without the usual requirements of skill building and daily tasks.

Promoting Your Sim

The primary cheat code for career promotion is:

careers.promote [careername]

Replace [careername] with the name of your Sim’s current career. Here are some examples:

• careers.promote Detective (for the Detective branch of the Law Enforcement career)
• careers.promote Doctor (for the Doctor branch of the Medical career)
• careers.promote Painter (for the Painter branch of the Arts career)
• careers.promote Writer (for the Writer branch of the Arts career)
• careers.promote Culinary (for the Culinary career)
• careers.promote SecretAgent (for the Secret Agent career)
• careers.promote TechGuru (for the Tech Guru career)
• careers.promote Astronaut (for the Astronaut career)
• careers.promote SocialMedia (for the Social Media career)
• careers.promote Business (for the Business career)
• careers.promote Athlete (for the Athlete career)
• careers.promote Entertainer (for the Entertainer career)
• careers.promote Criminal (for the Criminal career)
• careers.promote Scientist (for the Scientist career)
• careers.promote Education (requires Discover University expansion)
• careers.promote Law (requires Discover University expansion)
• careers.promote Military (requires Strangerville Game Pack)
• careers.promote StyleInfluencer (requires Get Famous expansion)
• careers.promote Actor (requires Get Famous expansion)

Using this cheat multiple times will rapidly advance your Sim through the ranks of their chosen profession. Be cautious, though; overusing it can lead to your Sim reaching the top level very quickly.

Demoting Your Sim

If you want to lower your Sim’s career level, the cheat code is similar to the promotion cheat:

careers.demote [careername]

Again, replace [careername] with the name of your Sim’s career. This cheat will lower their position by one level each time it’s used. This can be useful if you accidentally promoted them too far or if you want to experience the lower levels of a career.

Granting Instant Career Satisfaction

Some aspirations require your Sims to reach certain levels in their careers. You can instantly complete these aspirations using the cheat console. However, instead of directly manipulating the career, you’d be completing the aspiration milestone. This can be done using aspiration-related cheats (which are beyond the scope of this article).

Adding and Removing Careers

Sometimes, you might want to add or remove a career entirely. Perhaps you want to instantly give a Sim a job or make them unemployed. The Sims 4 offers cheat codes for these scenarios as well.

Joining a Career

To instantly add your Sim to a career, use the following cheat code:

careers.add_career [careername]

Replace [careername] with the name of the career you want your Sim to join. You can use the same career names as listed in the “Promoting Your Sim” section. For example:

careers.add_career Culinary

This will immediately enroll your Sim in the Culinary career at the lowest level. This cheat is particularly useful for starting a new Sim in a specific profession without having to go through the usual application process.

Resigning from a Career

If you want your Sim to quit their job, use the following cheat code:

careers.remove_career [careername]

Replace [careername] with the name of the career your Sim currently holds. For instance:

careers.remove_career Criminal

This will immediately remove your Sim from the Criminal career, making them unemployed. This cheat is useful if you want to quickly change your Sim’s career path or if you simply want them to be jobless.

Specific Career Branch Cheats

Certain careers in The Sims 4 branch out into different specializations. For example, the Culinary career can branch into Chef or Mixologist. The Arts career has Painter and Writer branches. These career branches can also be manipulated with cheats.

To understand the specific names of the career branches, it is always best to use the “careers.promote” cheat first and observe the names used there. The game will usually indicate the exact branch name required for other cheats when promotion cheats are used.

Freelance Careers

Freelance careers (introduced with the Freelancer update) work differently. While you can use the careers.promote and careers.demote cheats, they primarily affect your Sim’s level within the freelance agency, not specific job performance. To quickly complete freelance gigs, you’d typically use skill cheats or other methods to boost their performance.

Money Cheats and Career Synergies

While not directly related to career cheats, money cheats often go hand-in-hand with career manipulation. Quickly advancing through a career often requires funds for skill-building objects, home improvements, and other necessities.

The most common money cheats are:

• motherlode: Adds 50,000 Simoleons to your household’s funds.
• kaching: Adds 1,000 Simoleons to your household’s funds.
• rosebud: Adds 1,000 Simoleons to your household’s funds.
• money [amount]: Sets your household’s funds to a specific amount. For example, money 1000000 will set your household’s funds to 1,000,000 Simoleons.

Using these cheats in conjunction with career cheats can allow you to rapidly build a successful and wealthy Sim.

Skill Cheats and Career Performance

A Sim’s career performance is heavily influenced by their skills. While you can’t directly cheat career performance, you can indirectly influence it by maxing out relevant skills.

To use skill cheats, you’ll need to use the following general format:

stats.set_skill_level [skillname] [level]

Replace [skillname] with the name of the skill and [level] with the desired skill level (usually 1-10, depending on the skill).

Here are some examples of common skill cheats:

• stats.set_skill_level Major_Logic 10 (Maxes out the Logic skill)
• stats.set_skill_level Major_Writing 10 (Maxes out the Writing skill)
• stats.set_skill_level Major_Painting 10 (Maxes out the Painting skill)
• stats.set_skill_level Major_Cooking 10 (Maxes out the Cooking skill)
• stats.set_skill_level Major_Guitar 10 (Maxes out the Guitar skill)
• stats.set_skill_level Major_Fitness 10 (Maxes out the Fitness skill)
• stats.set_skill_level Major_Charisma 10 (Maxes out the Charisma skill)
• stats.set_skill_level Major_Gardening 10 (Maxes out the Gardening skill)
• stats.set_skill_level Major_VideoGaming 10 (Maxes out the Video Gaming skill)
• stats.set_skill_level Major_Programming 10 (Maxes out the Programming skill)
• stats.set_skill_level Major_Baking 10 (Maxes out the Baking skill)
• stats.set_skill_level Major_Herbalism 10 (Maxes out the Herbalism skill, requires Outdoor Retreat Game Pack)
• stats.set_skill_level Major_Photography 5 (Maxes out the Photography skill, requires Get to Work Expansion Pack; skill only goes to level 5)
• stats.set_skill_level Major_Wellness 10 (Maxes out the Wellness skill, requires Spa Day Game Pack)
• stats.set_skill_level Major_Veterinarian 10 (Maxes out the Veterinarian skill, requires Cats & Dogs Expansion Pack)
• stats.set_skill_level Skill_Toddler_Communication 5 (Maxes out the Toddler Communication Skill, skill only goes to level 5)
• stats.set_skill_level Skill_Toddler_Thinking 5 (Maxes out the Toddler Thinking Skill, skill only goes to level 5)

By maximizing the skills relevant to your Sim’s career, you’ll significantly improve their job performance and make it easier for them to get promoted (even without using career cheats).

Risks and Considerations

While career cheats offer a convenient way to manipulate your Sim’s professional life, it’s important to be aware of the potential risks and drawbacks:

• Gameplay Imbalance: Overusing cheats can make the game too easy and remove the sense of accomplishment that comes with legitimate career progression.
• Storytelling Impact: Cheats can disrupt the natural flow of your Sims’ stories. Consider how cheating will affect their overall narrative and relationships.
• Bugs and Glitches: In rare cases, excessive cheating can lead to unexpected bugs or glitches in your game. Always save your game before using cheats, just in case.
• Loss of Motivation: The sense of reward is diminished when you shortcut your Sim’s journey.

Use cheats judiciously and consider the long-term impact on your gameplay experience.

Roleplay and Creative Uses of Career Cheats

Despite the potential drawbacks, career cheats can also be used creatively to enhance your Sims 4 experience. Here are a few ideas:

• Experimenting with Different Careers: Quickly try out different career paths without having to spend hours grinding through each one.
• Creating Unique Storylines: Use career cheats to create unexpected twists in your Sims’ lives. For example, a Sim might suddenly quit their job to pursue a completely different passion.
• Achieving Specific Goals: Use cheats to help your Sims reach specific career-related goals, such as becoming a renowned surgeon or a famous actor.
• Testing Game Mechanics: Use career cheats to quickly reach higher levels in a career and test the unique interactions and rewards associated with those levels.

Remember that The Sims 4 is ultimately a sandbox game, and you’re free to play it however you like. Career cheats can be a valuable tool for customizing your gameplay experience and creating the stories you want to tell.

What are the primary benefits of using career cheats in The Sims 4?

Using career cheats in The Sims 4 offers several advantages, primarily allowing players to skip the often-tedious grind of progressing through a career. This can be particularly helpful when focusing on other aspects of gameplay, such as building elaborate homes, developing complex family storylines, or exploring different skills and aspirations without the time commitment required for climbing the career ladder legitimately. It allows for rapid access to higher paychecks and career-specific rewards, boosting your Sim’s financial status and unlocking unique items for their home.

Furthermore, career cheats can be beneficial for testing different career paths or experimenting with different Sim personalities and backstories. Rather than spending countless hours achieving specific career milestones, you can instantly see how a Sim’s traits and skills interact with a particular profession. This can enhance the overall gameplay experience by enabling more diverse and customized storytelling opportunities without the constraints of traditional career progression.

Are there any potential drawbacks to using career cheats in The Sims 4?

While career cheats offer convenience, they can detract from the sense of accomplishment that comes with legitimately progressing through a career. The feeling of earning promotions through skill-building, fulfilling daily tasks, and maintaining relationships with colleagues is lost, potentially diminishing the overall satisfaction derived from the game. Additionally, rapid career advancement can lead to financial abundance, which may make the game feel less challenging and reduce the need for strategic resource management.

Another potential drawback is the disruption of the intended game balance. The Sims 4 is designed with a specific career progression curve in mind, and bypassing this can lead to unexpected consequences. For example, some gameplay elements, like career-specific events or opportunities, may be missed entirely when using cheats. Moreover, over-reliance on cheats might diminish the desire to explore other aspects of the game that are integral to the core Sims 4 experience.

What is the most common career cheat in The Sims 4, and how do I use it?

The most common career cheat in The Sims 4 involves directly promoting or demoting your Sim within their current career. To use this cheat, you first need to open the cheat console by pressing Ctrl + Shift + C (or Cmd + Shift + C on Mac). Then, type in “testingcheats true” and press enter to enable cheats. This step is crucial for most cheats to function properly.

Once testingcheats is enabled, you can use the following commands: “careers.promote [career name]” to get a promotion or “careers.demote [career name]” to get demoted. Replace “[career name]” with the actual name of your Sim’s career, such as “Detective,” “Actor,” or “Business.” This cheat offers a quick and easy way to advance or regress your Sim’s career progress as desired.

Can I use career cheats to get my Sim into any career I want, even if they haven’t applied yet?

Yes, you can use career cheats to add your Sim to any career, even if they haven’t officially applied through the game’s interface. The cheat to achieve this is slightly different from the promotion/demotion cheat. It allows you to instantly enroll your Sim in a specific career path at a predetermined level.

To do this, after enabling testingcheats, you would use the command “careers.add_career [career name]”. Again, replace “[career name]” with the desired career name. For example, “careers.add_career Doctor” would instantly place your Sim in the Doctor career. This cheat provides a flexible way to bypass the traditional job application process and quickly integrate your Sim into a chosen profession.

Are there any career-specific cheats that offer unique benefits beyond promotions?

While the “careers.promote” and “careers.add_career” cheats are the most widely known, some career-specific cheats offer unique benefits related to particular career paths. For example, some careers, especially those tied to specific game packs, may have hidden flags or conditions that can be manipulated through cheats. While not explicitly documented, exploring modding communities or online forums dedicated to specific career paths might reveal these hidden functionalities.

Furthermore, certain cheats affect aspects that indirectly benefit a career. For instance, using skill cheats to max out skills relevant to a career, such as Painting for the Painter career, will significantly improve your Sim’s performance and advancement within that field. These indirect benefits can be just as powerful as direct career manipulation, streamlining career progression and enhancing related activities.

How do I remove a Sim from their current career using cheats?

Sometimes you might want to remove a Sim from their career, and there’s a cheat for that as well. This can be useful if you want them to pursue a different path or simply experiment with unemployment. Like other career cheats, it requires enabling testingcheats first.

The cheat to remove a Sim from their career is “careers.retire [career name]”. Replace “[career name]” with the exact name of the career your Sim currently holds. This will effectively retire your Sim from their job, providing them with the usual retirement benefits based on their level and tenure, depending on the game.

Do career cheats work on all careers, including part-time and freelance options?

Career cheats generally work on most careers in The Sims 4, including the standard full-time careers. The “careers.promote” and “careers.demote” cheats are effective for these traditional career paths. However, the effectiveness on part-time and freelance careers can vary.

While you can usually add your Sim to a part-time career using “careers.add_career,” promotion cheats may not always function as expected. For freelance careers, the game handles progression differently, focusing on completing gigs rather than traditional promotions. Therefore, career cheats are less applicable to freelance work, although cheats affecting skill levels, which are crucial for securing better gigs, can still indirectly impact their success.