A Guide To Sims 3 Science Career

Create Your Sim

The addictive Sims 3 game has many career options for you to choose from, one of them being the science career. As with all careers, how well your Sim does depends on their personality, life-time wish, moods, and skill levels.

When first creating your Sim (if it is not already one in the game or the product of two Sims already being played), you will get to choose their traits or personalities. For the science career Sim, the four traits you should choose are:

• Green Thumb
• Angler
• Handy
• Genius

The fifth trait is not necessary to become a scientist and can be anything you like, although choosing your Sim to be one of the following may help in advancing you through the science career quickly.

• Lucky
• Workaholic
• Ambitious

The only lifetime wish that is directly linked to the science career is to ‘become a creature-robot cross breeder’, where the Sim is required to reach level 9 in the science career. However, ‘renaissance Sim’ is also ideal for a scientific Sim as it requires the Sim to reach level 10 in 3 different skill areas. A scientific Sim should be quite good at this, especially as there are 3 specific skills that the science career requires that can be linked back to the personality traits:

• Gardening
• Handiness
• Fishing

Added together with a basically happy Sim, they will certainly succeed in the science career. But remember not to let them become too stressed or wired; otherwise, you risk them failing and being fired.
Science Career

Apply for Science

Once your Sim has been created and has moved into the town, they can apply for the science career. This can be done via three methods – reading the newspaper, applying online on the computer or by going down to the science lab and applying directly. They will be hired, and they will undoubtedly start at the level 1 position.

Career Positions

There are 10 career positions as there with any career track in Sims 3. The first one is where your Sim will probably start.

Level 1 is the position of Test Subject, which means a fairly average working day from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 2.30 p.m. The wage for this level is actually quite good compared to the other career tracks, starting at 240 simoleans a day. This can increase if your Sim performs well at work. To be promoted, your Sim needs to improve their gardening skill.

Level 2 finds your Sim promoted to Lab Tech. Still working the same hours, they now get an increased wage to 288 simoleans a day. As with the first level, your Sim can gain small wage increases as long as they increase their gardening skill and remain in a happy mood.

Level 3 and your Sim becomes the Useless Contraption Manipulator. Still working the same hours as in level 1 and 2, their wage is now at 346 simoleans a day, with the chance of a small increase depending on the luck of your Sim, which is where the lucky trait comes into play. To be promoted onto level 4, your Sim will need to advance their skills in gardening and handiness.

Level 4 sees your Sim becoming a Fertilizer Analyst. You also now get a shorter work time dropping from 5 and a half hours a day to only 5 and working fewer days as well. As well as the weekend, your Sim also gets Wednesday off, along with a small wage increase to 485 simoleans a day. Keep up with the gardening and handiness skills to reach level 5.

Level 5 means becoming the Carnivorous Plant Tender. Whilst you still get Wednesday off, you now have to start work at 8 a.m. and not finish until 2 p.m. However the jump to 582 simoleans a day may keep your Sim accustomed to their lifestyle. Make sure that they still work on gardening and handiness skills when they are at home.

Level 6 is the position for Aquatic Ecosystem Tweaker, and your Sim can go back to their lie-in, not having to start work until 9 a.m. again. They also get a pay-rise to 699 simoleans a day, but now have to work on their fishing skills alongside gardening and handiness.

Level 7, you’ve made it to Genetic Resequencer. Your day has been shortened by 30 minutes, working from 9 a.m. until 1.30 p.m. and you are now earning 839 simoleans a day, still with a chance of increasing it if you impress the boss. You still need to improve the skill areas of fishing, handiness and gardening though if you want to get that promotion.

Level 8 and you are only one level away from reaching your lifetime wish (if that is what you chose), now a Top-Secret Researcher. Still the same hours as in level 7, but your wage has now reached 1007 simoleans a day, which will easily pay the bills and allow you to expand your home so that you can happily increase those needed skills.

Level 9 and congratulations you have now completed your lifetime wish. You are a Creature-Robot Cross Breeder. Your week has been shortened to include Thursdays off as well, although you are still working the same shift, and you now earn 1209 simoleans a day.

Level 10 is the highest rung on the scientific ladder. Your Sim has now become Mad Scientist, complete with wacky hair. The hours stay the same as level 9, but you can now earn 5442 simoleans a day, and as with all the other levels, with an increase in skills (if you can get any higher), you may still earn a bonus.

Remember that your Sim must not be late for work. Otherwise, their performance will be affected. The carpool arrives an hour before they are due to start, but you can also tell them to get to work by driving a car or using a bicycle. It is also important to know that your Sim’s mood affects their chance of promotion.

Work Your Sim

To keep your Sim happy and not overly-stressed, make sure you vary the tones whilst they are at work. There are six tones to choose from in the science career:

• Work hard – working hard allows the Sim to increase their working performance and impress the boss, but it does put extra pressure and stress on the Sim, so they are unlikely to want to build up their skills when they are at home. However, telling your Sim to go fishing or do some gardening may help them to relax whilst increasing these important skills. Unfortunately, if you have chosen the slob or computer whizz trait, they are more likely to veg out in front of the TV or be playing computer games.
• Relax in specimen closet – whilst this allows your Sim to relax at work it also means that their working performance is slower and it will take longer for that vital promotion. However, because they arrive at home so relaxed, you are then able to force them to build up skills in areas that may otherwise be stressful, such as handiness by getting them to fix that long-broken laptop, dishwasher or trash compactor.
• Meet fellow scientists – this is probably the first tone you want to complete when your Sim starts their new job at the science lab. Not only will you make new friends, but you will keep your social bar filled.
• Hang-out with fellow scientists – okay so you’re not getting much work done, but you are building up those important friendships.
• Assist boss with research – by building the relationship up with your boss, you increase the chance of a bonus or promotion.
• Do independent research – this tone is designed to help you get a performance boost to get that important promotion. Just be careful that it doesn’t back-fire on you. Otherwise, your Sim will be coming home stressed and tired.

Interactions, Perks and Opportunities

Upon climbing the ladder of science, your Sim will be open to new interactions that can be performed around the town. You may also find that certain career positions will give you added perks, where your Sim arrives home with something extra in their inventory. Normally this is a seed or fish, associated with the skills required for the career. This allows you to grow new fruits and flowers in your garden, which can be grown and added to your fridge, letting you create new culinary masterpieces.

Interacting with items can improve them and your mood. But, this does all depend on whether the upgrade you perform works or not. The handy, lucky Sim will find less damage is done, whilst technophobes and clumsy Sims may become set on fire, electrocuted or just breaks the objects. Don’t forget that electricity and fire can kill a Sim, so make sure they are skilled before you try to upgrade an object. You may be able to upgrade a manner of different objects including seats, appliances, beds and electronics.

Opportunities

There are also several opportunities that may make themselves available to the scientific Sim.

• Funding the Lab – simply completed by delivering a report to the City Hall.
• Fix It – where you need to fix a device in the science lab.
• One Shall Fall – where you match your wits against the Dr Inquitous at the Oustanding Citizen Warehouse Corp.
• Global Science Fair – where your skills are put to the test when you show off your inventions in the school.
• Late Night Science and Burning the Late Night Bunsen – requires staying home late at work, which increases your stress, but also your relationships with fellow scientists.
• Extra Appendages Are Fun, Hazardous Gismos, Practical Like a Fox, Ka-Boom and More, Strange Indeed, A Pig Too Far, What Not to Catch, Finger Pointing and You, and Do the Robot – you will find a book in your inventory, simply read it to increase your performance and relationship with the boss.
• Of Fish, Robots and Robot Things – simply give a presentation at the City Hall to get a pay-rise.
• The Best Evaporating Dish is a Clean One – you will find a pile of dirty dishes in your inventory. Wash them to improve your work performance.
• Learn a Thing or Two – use your home computer to conduct research.
• Nourishment for Herbivores – requires your Sim to grow several harvestable plants to quality above ‘Very Nice’ for a cash bonus of 1000 simoleans.
• Catch of the Day – catch a certain type of fish and take it to work for a pay-rise.
• A Meeting of Minds – a Symposium is held at a varying location, simply attend it, and your performance and work relationships will increase.

Of course, other opportunities related to any skills may also pop up, but these are all attached to the scientific career. Keep your Sim happy and relaxed by building up skills and interacting with other Sims to ensure a good career in the science track.