This article is part of a directory: The Sims 4: Complete Guide | Tips, Packs, Careers, Skills, Scenarios, & More
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The Sims 4: Get to Work is the first expansion pack released for the franchise, released on March 30, 2015. This expansion pack provides players with the opportunity to actively engage in their Sims' lives and truly become part of their careers. As the pack theme focuses on work life, with Get to Work, players have the chance to take on an active role in how their Sims perform certain careers, among many other additions to the game-play.

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In general, this expansion pack of The Sims 4 franchise is most comparable to The Sims 3 Ambitions and the much-loved The Sims 2 Open for Business when it comes to the core aspects of gameplay. As an expansion pack, it offers a variety of new game-play elements, a new world, new skills, careers, new Create-a-Sim and Build/Buy items, and much more. For players who are interested in aspects such as retail, it is an excellent choice and a great way to expand their gameplay experience.

Everything New In A Nutshell

sims 4 baking skill Get To Work
  • Introduction of Active Careers (Scientist, Doctor, Detective)
  • Retail Business
  • New World and Secret Lot (Magnolia Promenade, Sixam)
  • New Skills (Photography and Baking)
  • New Life State - Aliens
  • New Illnesses and Hospital Births
  • New CAS, Build/Buy Items and Collectibles

Active Careers

Active Careers, formerly known as Professions, provides an immersive gameplay for careers in The Sims 4 as it reintroduces this game-play aspect from The Sims 3 Ambitions With these active careers, players have the option to follow their Sims to the workplace, instead of the traditional rabbit hole or off-world careers. During work hours, Sims can complete tasks and gain promotions faster, if players choose to follow them to their job.

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Currently, The Sims 4 offers five active careers for players to explore: Detective, Doctor, Scientist, Actor/Actress, and Interior Decorator. The first three careers were initially introduced with the Get to Work expansion pack, and were the only active career options until the release of Get Famous and Happy Home Designer packs. Each career offers unique tasks and rewards, providing players with an engaging gaming experience.

Scientist Career

The Sims 4 Scientist Career-1

The Scientist Career is the most convenient of the three and offers the most generous rewards and highest pay. Sims must be in a Focused moodlet to excel in this career, as they need to have "Eureka!" moments to successfully create new designs using the Invention Constructor. However, while the tasks are typically less demanding and strict than in the Doctor and Detective careers, they are necessary for promotions which allow the Sims to unlock extra features, such as creating a portal to Sixam.

The work lot for this career is FutureSim Labs. Only Scientist Sims are allowed to use objects like the Invention Constructor, Chemistry Lab, and Chemical Analyzer in this lot. While this career pays of well during work hours, the inventions created by these Sims can also allow for additional interactions and money-making methods, for example by copying or transforming the objects. Amongst many other objects, the Satellite Dish is incredibly useful for those who don't want their Sims to be abducted and impregnated by aliens.

Doctor Career

A doctor in The Sims

In comparison to other careers in The Sims 4, the Doctor career requires the most work and is arguably one of the most challenging. Unfortunately, the rewards don't quite match the effort, with only a few minor benefits such as improved general health of Sims due to the introduction of the illness system and, if advanced enough, the ability to tell the gender of the baby to a pregnant Sim. Players must be observant and diagnose diseases correctly based on patients' visual symptoms and the tests they perform.

In general, the tasks for Doctor Sims begin with mundane activities such as greeting patients, taking their temperature, and other basic administrative tasks. As they get promotions, however, their duties become more advanced, including diagnosing and treating illnesses, attending to childbirth, and occasionally dealing with emergencies and out-of-hospital activities such as house calls and outbreaks. Focused Moodlet can help with career progression, but will not contribute to correctly diagnosing patients. To maintain performance points, players should ensure they are following the objectives and completing them in a timely manner.

Detective Career

The Sims 4 Detective Career-1

The Detective career is more balanced in comparison to the other active careers in this expansion. It requires less demanding hours than the Doctor career, but more involvement than the Scientist career. It offers the opportunity to visit various locations as crime scenes, giving Sims a chance to explore and meet new Sims. Furthermore, the detective career does not restrict Sims to a single work-lot for the entirety of their work hours, providing a refreshing change of scenery.

This career starts off with some mundane work that can be quite tedious and boring, but as Sims gain more experience and autonomy with their cases, it gradually becomes more fun and rewarding. As a detective, Sims will eventually be able to take on their own cases and interrogate suspects in order to get confessions. Sims can play bad cop and good cop while interrogating to have some fun dialogues. For Sims who have genius or observant traits and enjoy social interactions, this career can be a good fit as they will have an easier time completing the tasks.

Retail Business

When it comes to careers, not every Sim needs to stick to a standard job with fixed hours and wages. If they're feeling entrepreneurial, Running a Retail Store is an expensive but liberating and enjoyable way to make money. Get to Work introduces the new lot type, giving players the ability to turn any lot into a personalized retail store of their choice, with any merchandise they might wish to sell, including clothing, food, and items from Buy Mode. While it is technically possible to invest in a retail store with just a few hundred Simoleons, it is highly recommended to invest in making the environment more pleasant by adding good lighting, wallpapers, flooring, and decor items of choice to increase the store's curb appeal. This function, known as curb appeal, affects how many customers will be interested in the store. There are a decent amount of Buy/Build items available in this pack to help further increase the store's curb appeal.

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Furthermore, owning a retail business in The Sims allows players to experience management. Sims can hire and fire employees, manage their uniforms, and promote or demote them Employees with higher levels of retail skills and the store's perk points can further benefit the success of the store and drive sales. A similar management system was later implemented with Dine Out, which allows Sims to own a restaurant or a vet clinic if players own Cats & Dogs.

Magnolia Promenade

It is quite common for The Sims 4 expansion packs and game packs to include a new world for players to explore. Get to Work introduces players to Magnolia Promenade, a new world that is the size of a neighborhood compared to other worlds, with only four lots available. Unlike other worlds, Magnolia Promenade is not intended as a residential neighborhood, but rather a small business center, with three pre-built stores and one empty lot, which players can build and manage.

Sixam

Sims 4 Sixam

Sixam is an alien world, taking its name from Maxis being read backward. While Sixam was mentioned several times in The Sims 3, The Sims 4 makes this place a reality, allowing players to explore it. As it is a secret lot, not every Sim can roam into it, and it requires Scientist Sims to construct and upgrade a wormhole generator first. In general, Sixam is a beautiful lot, where players can befriend aliens, collect crystals, metals, and exclusive flora, and much more.

New Skill - Baking

The Sims 4 Baking Skill-1

The Baking Skill is similar to cooking and gourmet cooking, with a focus on baked goods such as bread, pastries, and cupcakes made in an oven or cupcake factory. Sims can improve their baking skills by baking - using the cupcake factory to make pastries or preparing any dish with the bake option on an oven or fridge. Additionally, Sims can read the skill book to improve this skill. As Sim's baking skill increases, more recipes will become available, including many vegetarian-friendly options, with a few exceptions. This skill is ideal for setting up a retail business, such as a bakery or food shop If players wish to pursue this entrepreneurial venture, they will find this skill to be invaluable as high-quality food can sell for a high value.

New Skill - Photography

The Sims 4 Photography Skill-1

Photography is a new skill introduced in The Sims 4: Get to Work and was later added to the base game in Patch 57, allowing all players the opportunity to capture and decorate lots with memorable moments of their Sims' lives. With a max level of 5, players can take pictures of anything in the Sims world with either a cell phone or a camera from the Buy Mode. To make a profit from Photography, it is recommended that players invest in the cameras, as they will be able to take higher quality photos that will fetch a higher price.

Aliens

The Sims 4 Alien Sitting On A Couch Talking

The Sims Franchise is no stranger to Aliens. The Sims 4 introduces Aliens with a wide variety of features, including abductions and male-sim pregnancy. Not only has the game diversified Aliens' appearances, with different skin tones and outfit options, but it also allows Aliens to walk among us in disguise. With the Get to Work expansion, Sims may encounter townies that are secretly Aliens.

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Alien Sims have unique interactions not available to other life states, such as erasing memories and analyzing Sims. Players can play as Alien Sims in several ways. Firstly, they can select the Alien life state in Create A Sim (CAS) and customize their alien look as well as their disguise. Secondly, players can have an alien baby by trying for a baby with an alien sim they have encountered, or by having a male sim impregnated during an abduction. Lastly, they can simply add an alien sim to the household.

New Illnesses and Hospital Births

Illnesses have been a part of The Sims franchise since the first game. These illnesses usually lead to a significant decrease in motives and mood, a change in appearance, and in earlier games could even lead to death. While the base game only adds nausea to the game, some packs add a variety of other illnesses. With Get to Work, 8 new illnesses are added, each with their own unique descriptions and effects. Fortunately, none of the illnesses are fatal and can be easily treated by consuming various remedies such as medicine, hot tea, orange juice, or simply napping or sleeping.

The Get to Work expansion pack provides a more realistic experience for players who prefer more detail in their life simulations. It allows pregnant Sims to give birth in a hospital, by selecting the Sim in labor and choosing the Have Baby at Hospital self-interaction option. Players can even travel to the hospital lot with any other Sim they choose, allowing for even more immersion. For an even more realistic experience, players can download mods that enhance the pregnancy gameplay.

New CAS and Build/Buy Items

The Sims 4 Get To Work Buy Items-1

Although not as vast as some of the other packs, The Sims 4 Get To Work comes with new Build/Buy items, career rewards and the brand-new “Venue” objects which focus on retail stores.

Get to Work also offers a wide variety of new CAS items that fit the theme of retail business, careers, and aliens. In general, it offers clothing, hairstyles, career outfits, and accessories for your Sims to enjoy:

  • Female (Teen - Elder): 9 hairstyles, 1 head accessory, 5 accessories (earrings, glasses, necklaces), 9 Eyeshadows, 4 blushes, 5 lipsticks, 8 tops, 4 bottoms, 4 full-outfits, 4 shoes, 7 accessories ( bracelets, leggings, socks), 8 tattoos.
  • Male (Teen - Elder): 8 hairstyles, 1 hat, 4 necklaces, 7 Eyeshadows, 4 blushes, 3 lipsticks, 9 tops, 4 bottoms, 3 full-outfits, 7 shoes, 3 accessories ( bracelets, gloves), 7 tattoos.
  • Female (Child): 2 hairstyles, 1 hat, 6 accessories (earrings, glasses, necklaces), 4 tops, 4 bottoms, 3 full-outfits, 7 shoes, 2 accessories (socks)
  • Male (Child): 1 hairstyle, 1 hat, 5 accessories (earrings, glasses, necklaces), 2 tops, 4 bottoms, 1 full-outfits, 5 shoes, 1 accessory (socks)

The Sims 4 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.