The Sims 4’s Money Machines Revealed

Here are the top ten careers in The Sims 4, ranked by Sim Currency earnings.

I loaded my decade‑old save, hit resume, and found my Sim household bleeding bills after the latest patch hiked utilities again. So I did what any budget‑strapped watcher would do: I unleashed a parade of clones into every lucrative job the game offers and sat back with MCCC spreadsheets open. After several in‑game months, the results were blatant—some gigs fling cash faster than you can pause, while others are pure clock‑punch purgatory.

From a design standpoint, Maxis has continued stacking the economy in favor of flashy, interactive professions. When the game shipped in 2014 there were only ten traditional career tracks, each splitting neatly at mid‑level. Eleven years on, expansions such as Get Famous, StrangerVille, Eco Lifestyle and the recent Lovestruck have multiplied that roster and, crucially, injected home‑based and active branches that pay far beyond the original ceiling. Formal analysis of hourly wages shows that every role in the current top tier breaks the §14 k‑per‑week barrier, with several flirting dangerously close to §20 k.

10. Double Diamond Agent – §12,780/Week

Secret Agent’s noble side, the Double Diamond Agent, pays slightly less and demands more—three 15-hour shifts per week. The prestige is high, but in practical terms, it’s a micro-managing nightmare unless you fill the household with self-sufficient Sims or supplement with side gigs. Cool on paper, exhausting in gameplay.

9. Villain – §12,875/Week

The Secret Agent track deserves special mention for hiding two diametrically opposed outcomes. The Villain branch slides a few hundred Simoleons higher than its heroic counterpart and dramatically trims hours. The Mischief grind deters casual players, yet if you seize every prank opportunity from day one, the Villain promotion curve is shorter than the heroic path. The dichotomy illustrates Maxis’ broader narrative philosophy: ethical choices often cost your Sims free time.

8. Investor – §12,992/Week

Financial analysts in the real world like to say money makes money, and The Sims 4 mimics that principle through the Angel Investor path. On paper it is an unsexy desk slog, but the §12,992 weekly haul coupled with occasional stock market chance cards builds an unshakable nest egg. During my tests the investor rarely left the apartment, meaning the simulation time‑cost is low: set them to focused, queue “Research Stocks,” and leave the clock running while you manage livelier households.

7. Trend Setter – §13,530/Week

The Trend Setter path is the sibling of the Stylist track, and while it comes in slightly lower at §13,530 per week, it also features short shifts and creative gameplay. Plus, perks like the sketch pad and photography gear make it ideal for storytellers who want in-game tools to match their Sim’s style flair.

6. Certified Dating Specialist – §14,070/Week

Shifting tone to formal reflection, these earnings curves illustrate a broader economic inflation the developers have embraced. The Lovestruck expansion’s Certified Dating Specialist proves the point: §14,070 a week to juggle romantic spreadsheets sounds absurd until you notice how many new date venues price above §100 each. You’ll need to put in long hours, but it’s the top of the Matchmaker branch—and surprisingly profitable for Sims who love love.

5. Botanist – §14,700/Week

Formally assessing the data across all expansions, the Botanist branch introduced with Seasons is a quiet overachiever. Scaling plants feels serene next to rocket launches or covert dossiers, but the top role, PhD of Pollen, quietly showers §14,700 a week into your household budget while letting you work from home daily. Pairing it with Cottage Living’s oversized crops created a feedback loop where garden yield decorated the lot and paid the bills simultaneously.

4. Interstellar Smuggler – §14,868/Week

While most Sims are stuck on Earth, the Astronaut career’s Interstellar Smuggler track offers players a sleek, sci-fi fantasy job with serious earnings—§14,868 per week. Promotions demand a rare mix of Rocket Science and Fitness, and the top-level gig has long hours. It’s a niche path, but if you love spacesuits and moonlit lifts, this is the Sim lane for you.

3. Stylist – §15,000/Week

My personal surprise came when the style influencer track divided into Trend Setter and Stylist. I’d always pegged design work as side‑hustle fluff, yet the Stylist’s Personal Re‑Imager position quietly tips §15 k per week with only six‑hour shifts. Running both branches side by side, the Stylist Sim collected nearly §1 k more over the same period, nudging it ahead despite identical mood prep. It’s also hilariously immersive; clicking “Make Trends” on unsuspecting neighbors and watching their wardrobe mutate is still peak Sims chaos.

2. Military (Covert Operator & Officer) – §16,880/Week

In straight comparative terms, the military path is the formal runner‑up. Both the Covert Operator and Officer branches peak at §16,880 per week. Laboratory math shows the Officer’s daylight schedule is the gentler curve, but spies gain a useful nocturnal block for parallel skill grinding. Logically, promotion gates demand high Logic for covert work or Charisma for commanding troops, underscoring how Maxis attaches thematic skills to each endpoint rather than blanket grind requirements.

1. Acting – §19,600/Week

I saw the biggest raw juice in acting. A well‑managed performer who nails every emotional prep task and smashes the on‑set minigame is now clearing §19,600 in a typical seven‑day cycle. That number looks cartoonish until you remember the gig bonus structure essentially grafts freelance flexibility onto a career ladder. The catch is total player involvement—skip an audition, forget to practice guitar, and the payout nose‑dives. Still, for storytellers who enjoy escorting their starlet through paparazzi mobs, it remains the undisputed king of Simoleons.

Working Hours: Varies by gig. Each acting job is scheduled independently depending on audition success. Workdays and hours change dynamically, often with prep tasks required before shoot days.

Extended Shifts Undermine Household Autonomy

Source: Abigail Miller & Lee D'Amato, ScreenRant

One tangible drawback becomes apparent when secret agents and smugglers share a household: their fifteen‑hour shifts remove autonomy from the Sims who stay behind. Storyline balance can be restored by keeping a Freelancer writer or Painter active while the Double Diamond operative disappears into an extended workday. In controlled tests, overlapping emergency calls for two agents almost led to catastrophic neglect, including a toddler aging up unattended.

As of the June 2025 patch, Acting remains the most profitable career track. The comparison excludes auxiliary revenue streams such as royalties and the increasingly lucrative in‑house livestream system, both of which can multiply household income when layered on top of salary earnings.

Simulation data highlight the inflation built into today’s game economy. Erecting a three‑storey Newcrest mansion for £300 k in purely earned Simoleons—no cheats, no loans—now falls comfortably within reach, a stark contrast to 2014’s struggle to afford §15 countertops. The modern Sims 4 landscape therefore, offers multiple legitimate routes to high‑roller status without resorting to Motherlode.

New and returning players are advised to focus on post‑2018 active careers for the fastest promotion curves and largest paychecks. Acting currently leads, but future patches may shift the hierarchy toward military, botany, or style‑focused professions.