The Sims 2: Highest Paying Careers

Summary

• Natural Science, Music, and Journalism are some of the best-paying careers in The Sims 2.
• Sims in these careers can earn up to 10,497 to 13,800 simoleons per week once they reach the top level.
• Intelligence and Show Business careers also offer high pay, with top earners making 15,000 and 15,066 simoleons per week respectively.

There are many ways to play The Sims 2, but for Sims (and players) driven by a need for wealth, finding the highest-paying career might be the first question that comes to mind. Sims can take jobs in The Sims 2 by checking the newspaper or using a computer. However, jobs pay differently at different levels of the ladder.

These are the best-paying careers in The Sims 2, once they have reached the peak, assuming that Sims are able to produce the elbow and nose grease to slither their way to the top of the food chain. Building skills and making friends are requirements for advancements in all jobs, and these are no exceptions.

10

The Natural Science Career Track

Like Science, But Natural (And Better Paying)

• Entry-Level Wage: § 325 per day, § 1,625 per week
• Top-Level Pay: § 10,497 per day, § 10,497 per week

Not only is natural science one of the most lucrative jobs at the top, but its entry position (ratkeeper) is also one of the best-paid jobs. Making a career out of understanding the natural world brings in the tenth-most payout of all the most prosperous careers, but it has benefits that make it one of the best in the game.The career object rewards is a murderous plant, the Cowplant, that can extend a sim’s lifespan.

Should the natural science sim stay on at the top level (the ecological guru) they will find this extra life a worthy asset as they are only required to work one day a week for a payout of 10,497 simoleons per day. The Body, Logic, Cleaning and Mechanic skills must be mastered to advance in this track, and a university degree is required to even enter this career.

9

The Music Career Track

A Symphony Of Ka-Ching! Sounds

• Entry-Level Wage: § 125 per day, § 625 per week
• Top-Level Pay: § 2,830 per day, § 11,320 per week

Starting out as a musician, true to life, is tough in The Sims 2, with the low 125 simoleons per day for the entry position of a record store clerk. While it isn’t slacker levels of low, it can be tough to survive. However, at the upper levels, Sims can expect to lead a comfortable life.

The highest-level job, Rock God, still requires Sims to work four days a week, but the status and cash flow that it brings in is worth it at 11,320 simoleons per week. The career reward object is a cool guitar, which is rad for rockstars who are into that kind of thing.

8

The Journalism Career Track

A World Where Reporters Are Paid More Than The Mayor

• Entry-Level Wage: § 115 per day, § 575 per week
• Top-Level Pay: § 2,350 per day, § 11,750 per week

It is hard to imagine that a person who makes a living covering the news makes any serious amount of cash in their endeavors. However, in The Sims 2, those who manage to break free of the yearbook supervisor entry gig will find the reportage of daily events lucrative.

By the eighth step of the ladder, the investigative journalist makes around the same as a judge from the political career, and as a media magnate, journalism’s top job, the notepad-carrying Sim can expect to take home more than a mayor with 11,750 simoleons per week.

7

The Oceanography Career Track

Deep Waters, Deeper Pockets

• Entry-Level Wage: § 185 per day, § 925 per week
• Top-Level Pay: § 3,970 per day, § 11,910 per week

Starting as a fish chummer might not sound glamorous, but the oceanography career in The Sims 2 is a hidden gem for Sims who love the majesty of the sea. With an entry-level wage of 185 bucks per day, it’s a solid start.

However, the real treasure lies at the top, or rather, the bottom. As the hand of Poseidon, Sims will rake in 3,970 simoleons per day, or §11,910 per week, and can float with the satisfaction of swimming in the same waters as a god.

6

The Entertainment Career Track

Pulling Out More Than Rabbits

• Entry-Level Wage: § 172 per day, § 860 per week
• Top-Level Pay: § 2,730 per day, § 13,650 per week

For Sims with a flair for the dramatic, the entertainment career offers a star-studded path to fame and fortune. Starting as a stand-up comic at 172 Sim buckeroos per day, it’s a modest beginning.

Entertainers also have to suffer from having a beat-up ride for the first seven steps. However, the payoff is worth the grind. At the top, as a world-renowned prestidigitator, Sims will conjure §2,730 per day, or §13,650 per week, out of their magician’s hats.

5

The Adventurer Career Track

Plundering Tombs And Dangerous Places

• Entry-Level Wage: § 240 per day, § 1,200 per week
• Top-Level Pay: § 3,105 per day, § 12,420 per week

It is likely that Sims in the adventure field will be doing this kind of work for the love of it more than the money, although there is plenty of financial reward, even right from the get-go.

The starting pay, 1,200 per week, isn’t too bad, but this bumps up to §12,420 at the top of the career. The career’s object reward, the golden skull, helps bump up Sims’ moods while around it, but it cannot be sold for extra cash.

4

The Artist Career Track

Painting Pretty Pictures Of Payday

• Entry-Level Wage: § 231 per day, § 1,155 per week
• Top-Level Pay: § 4,549 per day, § 13,647 per week

Usually, art that pulls in vast sums of money is the stuff of a deceased artist, but painting is a viable path in The Sims 2. Starting as a canvas stretcher at §231 per day, the path to artistic mastery is challenging but rewarding.

At the top, as a “visionary,” Sims will earn 4,549 art smackeroons per day, or §13,647 per week. Not just anybody can pick up a brush and paint, however, as Sims will have to go through university before they can even apply for the entry job.

3

The Education Career Track

The Most Unrealistic Part Of The Game

• Entry-Level Wage: § 215 per day, § 1,075 per week
• Top-Level Pay: § 3,450 per day, § 13,800 per week

In a complete reversal from the real world, in which educators are usually vastly outpaced by businessmen, athletes, and police in terms of pay, the teaching career is the third best in the game. Even the lowest rung, playground monitors, are compensated better than bureaucrats or new military recruits.

This bizarre simulated reality where people can afford housing and groceries without taking on two or three jobs also provides leading educators with the third-best income, especially at the top. The education minister sim can expect to take home §13,800 per week. Sims will need an A+ in the Charisma, Logic, and Cleaning skills to graduate upwards in this career.

2

The Intelligence Career Track

Trading In High-Priced Secrets

• Entry-Level Wage: § 225 per day, § 1,125 per week
• Top-Level Pay: § 3,750 per day, § 15,000 per week

The snooping and secret gathering biz isn’t a bad way to make some income, as the entry-level pay for intelligence in the gumshoe job pays well above 1,000 simoleons a week. Intelligence work starts at the ground level and then works up to government work and is ostensibly about keeping the nation safe.

However, even in the idealistic fantasy world of The Sims 2, shadowy government spooks whose main preoccupation is state toppling and snowboarding are still the ones with the biggest bank accounts, with the head of the SCIA raking in 15,000 simoleons per week. Only those with high cleaning (body disposal), mechanical (cutting breaks), and logic skills (black market forces) will climb the intelligence ladder quickly.

1

The Show Business Career Track

The Road To Stardom Glitters With Gold

• Entry-Level Wage: § 420 per day, § 2,100 per week
• Top-Level Pay: § 5,022 per day, § 15,066 per week

Sim graduates who have recently scored their degree and are looking to rake in both fame and fortune may be interested to know that show business is the way to go. Even the lowest rung, the screen test stand-in brings §420 per day, five days a week. At the other end of that ladder is a job that pays §15k for a mere three days of work a week.

Apparently, the utopian world of The Sims 2 is obsessed with escapism, celebrity, and movies, having done away with most social ills plaguing the real world, and money-hungry Sims would be wise to take this path, but they should be sure not to apply for the pet “show biz” jobs on the application form.