To get a job in The Sims 2, click the newspaper on the lawn and choose “Find a Job”, or sit a Sim at a computer and pick “Find a Job” there; the computer shows more listings than the paper, and it can hire a skilled, well-connected Sim several levels up the ladder. Teens and elders use the same two objects for their own shorter career tracks. This guide covers both job boards, how the game decides your starting level, the third route through networking, which careers come from which expansion (all included in the Legacy Collection), and the cheat that skips the search.
The newspaper: three listings a day
A newspaper lands on the lot every morning. Click it and choose “Find a Job” to see that day’s listings, then click the one you want to take it. Long-running player documentation counts three listings per paper for a normal Sim (fewer for a Sim who was expelled from university). If none of the three appeal, wait for tomorrow’s paper; old papers pile up and are worth recycling before five accumulate.
The newspaper’s weakness is starting level. An adult hired from the paper starts at level 1 of the track almost every time. The exceptions are teens coming out of private school, who start teen careers at level 2, and university graduates whose degree matches the career, who can start around level 2 as well.
The computer: five listings and a better start
Any computer from Buy Mode works. Have a Sim use it and choose “Find a Job” to see five listings instead of three (the computer’s listings refresh at midnight, while the paper only changes when a new one lands), and here the starting level is calculated from the Sim’s skills, friend count and whether they hold a degree. A Sim who already has the skills and friends for a mid-level promotion can be hired straight into that level, and player documentation reports that a graduate with a matching degree, the right skills and enough friends can be placed as high as level 9 through the computer.
That makes the computer the default job board for any Sim you have prepared: build the relevant skills first (Body for Athletic, Creativity for Artist or Slacker, Logic for Science and so on), make a few friends, then search. A cheap desktop pays for itself the first time a Sim skips four levels of promotions.
Networking and other routes
With Apartment Life installed, which the Legacy Collection includes, Sims can network with contacts they meet at work and be offered a job that starts partway up the ladder, commonly around levels 3 to 5 per player documentation. Chance cards at work can also switch or advance a career, and a few aspiration reward objects and career reward objects speed up the skill building that gets a Sim hired higher.
One correction to the 2025 version of this guide: aspiration rewards do not hand out jobs. They help with skills and mood, which in turn raise the starting level the computer offers.
Which careers need which expansion
The base game ships ten adult tracks (Athletic, Business, Criminal, Culinary, Law Enforcement, Medicine, Military, Politics, Science, Slacker) plus teen and elder versions. The expansions add more, and because the Legacy Collection bundles all eight expansions, every track below is available in it. The older Ultimate Collection also had every expansion, so the career list is the same in both; the one pack Legacy dropped for licensing was a stuff pack, which adds no careers.
- University: Artist, Natural Science, Paranormal and Show Business. These four are only offered to university graduates; a non-graduate searching the paper or computer never sees them.
- Seasons: Adventurer, Education, Gamer, Journalism, Law and Music.
- FreeTime: Oceanography, Intelligence, Entertainment, Dance and Architecture.
- Pets: careers for cats and dogs, found through the newspaper’s separate “Find a Job for a Pet” option.
If a listing you expect never shows up, the Sim usually fails a requirement (no degree for a University track, wrong age) rather than the game hiding it.
Skipping the search
With testing cheats enabled, Shift-clicking the newspaper opens a debug menu that lets you pick any career and level directly, and it also hands out career reward objects. Our Sims 2 cheats guide explains how to enable testing cheats and the risks that come with them, and if money rather than the job title is the goal, our Sims 2 money cheats guide is the faster route. The official Legacy patch notes do remind players that testing cheats will pop up debugging dialogs while active, which is expected behaviour, not a bug.
Once hired, a carpool arrives an hour before the shift. Missing it repeatedly costs the job, so save before experimenting with schedules (see how to save your game in The Sims 2). For every other system in the game, from university to moving house, start at the Sims guides hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the newspaper or the computer better for finding a job? The computer. It shows five listings to the paper’s three, and it can hire a skilled Sim above level 1, which the newspaper almost never does.
Why can my Sim not find the Artist or Paranormal career? Those four tracks came with University and are only offered to university graduates. Send the Sim through college first, or use the newspaper cheat.
Can teens and elders work? Yes. Both have their own shorter tracks with part-time hours, found through the same newspaper and computer options. Teens who attend private school start at level 2.
Do I need an expansion to get a job? No. The base game has ten careers. The expansions add more tracks, and all of them are included in the Legacy Collection and the older Ultimate Collection.
How do I quit a job? Use the phone or the computer and choose the quit option; the Sim can look for a new job the next day. Remember the newspaper only refreshes once per morning.