Delphine wrote:I think it is a pity to keep unemployéd sims

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It's true that careers are a good way to earn both money and XP. However, it depends on the career. Compared to some jobs, unemployment isn't THAT bad. For example, a top level scientist earns about 125 simoleons and 144 XP per hour. Onions give you about 171 simoleons and 129 XP per hour. So when my employed sims go to work, my unemployed ones will spend the next 7 hours planting onions. That way they can support themselves and no welfare is needed! Also, their "work" hours are much more flexible, as I can make them plant onions whenever I wish.
Besides, if I use the unemployed sims for career tasks, they don't have to spend the next hours leveling back up in their original careers... they can spend the same amount of time doing hobbies, which is much more profitable. Also, they are useful for completing long (12-24 hour) tasks because they don't have to skip work in order to do so. Skipping work doesn't hurt of course, but I feel a little naughty whenever I make an employed sim skip work.
Another reason I keep unemployed sims is storytelling. All my sims have a personality and a background story. One of my unemployed sims is a white trash bad boy, the other is his airheaded girlfriend, one is a vampire who hates everyone, and one is a free-spirited rocker guy who never commits to anything so he does a lot of job and hobby hopping (I won't employ him as a musician because the work hours don't suit me). Unemployment simply suits these people. If I was playing to maximize profits, I'd have everyone employed as athletes.
The sims go back to level 1 in hobbies, that's right but they just lose one level in professions

, so they go back to level 4/5.
My advice is to use scientists to bécome politiciens/firemen/whatever is needed for the goal as they can switch back to level 6 as scientists in three hours by playing chess in the park

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Thank you, these tips are very useful! I wish I had known earlier that sims lose only one level if they change careers... it would have saved me the 5 LPs I used for skipping a goal!
Also, let me add that if you don't have enough scientist sims for this, your next bet would be the politicians. They can level back with 15 minute sessions on the soap box. And the poor scientist sims trying to focus on chess in the park will have to listen to the politicians' speeches...
