While The Sims 4 is a sandbox game, many of the in-game goals, aspirations, and achievements revolve around making money or advancing through careers. Upon its release, The Sims 4 came packaged with ten careers, each with two distinct career branches. Since then, additional career paths have been patched into the base game and added through various DLC, totaling 25 full-time career paths for Sims to pursue.
No matter if a Sim becomes an Astronaut or an Athlete, making money can be a rewarding part of The Sims 4, allowing players to buy every piece of furniture in the games catalog to furnish their lavish mansions. For those players looking for the fastest route to monetary success, these career paths are the highest paying in The Sims 4.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY
10 Management (Business Career Track)
§12,000 Per Week
For entrepreneurial Sims, the Management career branch of the Business career can be a good way to go, although it's not as lucrative as the Investor branch. Sims who successfully become Business Tycoons, the highest level of the Management branch, can expect to make §12,000 per week.
RELATED: Every Sims Spin-Off Game, Ranked According To Metacritic
They also get the added bonus of a later start, with working hours commencing at 10am on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. However, much like in real life, hopeful business moguls will have to start at the bottom, with the first rung on the ladder being Mailroom Technician.
9 Boss (Criminal Career Track)
§12,460 Per Week
The joy of the Sims is that characters can be whatever players want them to be, and they don't all have to be upstanding citizens. For Sims with a more nefarious streak, there's always the Criminal career track which comes with two branches: Boss and Oracle. While the Oracle branch is perfect for Sims characters like the pre-made Yuki Behr, focussing on digital pursuits like hacking and making viruses, the Boss branch is much more old-fashioned.
As a throwback-style mobster, Sims can rise through the ranks to become The Boss, which will net a tidy sum of §12,460 per week. Joining the Criminal is an important part of the Public Enemy aspiration, but it does involve partaking in many mean interactions with other Sims which can make building relationships a challenge.
8 Diamond Agent (Secret Agent Career Track)
§12,780 Per Week
If a Sim wants to become the next James Bond, the Diamond Agent branch of the Secret Agent career track is for them. Starting out as an Agency Clerk, those suited to the job will eventually become a Double Diamond Agent, where they can earn §12,780 per week.
Players should be aware that secret agents have to work long hours. Double Diamond Agent has the longest working hours of any job in The Sims 4, with three 15-hour shifts per week. While no doubt exciting for the Sim, players may want to make other characters to control in the meantime.
7 Villain (Secret Agent Career Track)
§12,875 Per Week
Suggesting that crime can sometimes pay, the other career branch in the Secret Agent career track, Villain, earns slightly more than Diamond Agent. In the top position, Triple Agent, Sims can make §12,875 per week.
RELATED: 10 Hidden Deaths In The Sims 4 Only Die-Hard Fans Know About
While a better option overall for Secret Agents due to more money and fewer working hours, it's best suited for playful and mischievous Sims as it requires a lot of Mischief skill-building. For academic Villains, players with the Discover University expansion pack can send Sims to study Villainy and get a boost in the Villain career track upon graduating.
6 Investor (Business Career Track)
§12,992 Per Week
For Sims who want to use their money to make more money, there is the Investor branch of the Business career track. Sims can eventually become an Angel Investor, which will make them a tidy profit of §12,992 each week.
While the Business career is a safe bet for those Sims with money-based aspirations, it is perhaps one of the least engaging careers in The Sims 4 as there is no Work from Home option or amusing edge found in other careers like Secret Agent or Astronaut. Nevertheless, it's a surefire way to get rich in The Sims 4.
5 Trend Setter (Style Influencer Career Track)
§13,530 Per Week
One of the more recent careers added to the game, Style Influencer arrived in the November 2018 patch. It comes with two branches, Trend Setter and Stylist, both of which are perfect for fashionable Sims.
If players opt for the Style Influencer branch, the top job, Icon O'Class, will make §13,530 per week. It's not as lucrative as the other branch in this career track, but Sims need to work just 6 hours a day for 5 days and the job comes with a digital sketch pad and a camera which are fun to play around with.
4 Botanist (Gardener Career Track)
§14,700 Per Week
The Gardener career was delivered as part of one of the best Sims 4 expansion packs, Seasons. While a career as a Gardener might not seem as exciting as other options at first, it's actually a great money-maker for green-fingered Sims. Players wanting to make as much money as possible should opt for the Botanist branch as the highest ranking job, PhD of Pollen, earns §14,700 per week.
Perhaps the biggest draw for the Gardening career is the ability to Work from Home every day, meaning that players can have total control of their Sims for the full day rather than have them disappear into their rabbit hole workplace. Accomplished gardeners might even discover a hidden Sims 4 secret most players never discover - a unique way to cheat death.
3 Interstellar Smuggler (Astronaut Career Track)
§14,868 Per Week
As kids, many people dream of being Astronauts. While most people won't be able to achieve that particular aspiration in the real world, having Sims successfully pursue the career is a close second.
RELATED: Top 10 Sims YouTubers
On top of that, becoming an Astronaut is lucrative in The Sims 4 - especially if players are willing to let Sims be less-than-perfect characters and choose the more nefarious branch: Interstellar Smuggler. The top job of this career branch will see Sims making §14,868 per week. Players should be warned that Astronaut is one of the hardest careers to earn a promotion in and just like in the real world, Sims need to be highly athletic to make it work.
2 Stylist (Style Influencer Career Track)
§15,000 Per Week
For Sims who want to help others find their style, the Style Influencer career comes with a Stylist branch. There isn't much of a difference between the two Style Influencer branches, but Stylist proves to be more financially rewarding in the long run.
When Stylists become Personal Re-Imagers, they will earn §15,000 per week. Sims who reach this level also get a fun new feature - the ability to "Make Trends." Here, players can create outfits that other Sims will be seen around town in. It's perfect for making The Sims 4's notoriously badly dressed townies a little more fashionable.
1 Covert Operator / Officer (Military Career Track)
§16,880 Per Week
By far the most lucrative career path in The Sims 4 is the military career, and this includes both branches. In order to access this career, players will need the StrangerVille game pack, which is perhaps the biggest drawback to this option.
However, both branches of the Military career - Covert Operator and Officer - offer the same financial rewards. Those who successfully rise through the ranks will earn §16,880 per week in either of the jobs, be it Grand Marshal or Sim-in-Black.
MORE: 10 Things To Know About The Sims 4 Infants Update