Sims 4 Military Career Guide

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Arron is a featured team writer and lifelong gamer. Ever since he started playing games on his old SNES, he has been hooked ever since. He has a particular love for games like Pillars of Eternity, Skyrim, a variety of beloved indie titles, and also The Sims, which serves as a means of avoiding open-world fatigue. Outside of gaming, he enjoys watching arthouse movies, playing Dungeons & Dragons, and writing fiction.

Key Info Up Front

Expansion: StrangerVille
Primary Skills: Fitness, Logic, Charisma
Branches: Covert Operator, Officer
Levels: 10
Job Type: Semi-Active

Military Career Overview

The Military Career was introduced to Sims 4 with the release of the StrangerVille expansion. Until Sims 4 it was a base game career, but its newest inclusion makes it a semi-active career. This means that players have the option to control their Sim during the weekday, but they don’t have to. This works in that an hour before the Sim has to go to work, the player can pick between sending them to work like a traditional “rabbit hole” career or having them work from home and controlling them throughout their shift. If they stay home to work, the Sim is then given two tasks they must complete before the end of their shift to get full job performance.

In Sims 4, the Military Career track tasks Sims with raising their Fitness level above all else. However, depending on which of the two branches you pick for your Sim to follow, either recruiting others as an Officer or uncovering the secrets of others as a Covert Operator, they will have to raise either Charisma or Logic, respectively as well. Regardless of your Sim’s path, they will make really solid money compared to other careers and will enjoy a stable five-day work week with eight-hour shifts.

University Degree

If you also have the Discover University expansion, you may want to prepare your Sim for the Military Career by having them earn a complimentary degree. When deciding your Sim’s major, you have two options for the Military career depending on which path you ultimately want them to follow. Of course, you can always change your mind after they graduate, but you’ll get the most out of picking a degree and sticking with its aligned path.

If you want your Sim to ultimately go down the Officer branch, you’ll want to have them study for a History degree. This degree also works well for Sims going down the Law and Politician Career paths. It focuses on examining events from the past to learn from while moving forward into the future. To put it into mechanical terms, it focuses on raising a Sim’s Charisma, Logic, and Research and Debate skills. In the Officer branch, your Sim won’t get much out of the last one, but the first two will be beneficial to pick up as early as possible.

If you would rather have your Seem become a Covert Operative, however, you’ll want to go for the Psychology degree. This degree also works well for Professors and Sims going into the Secret Agent and Detective career paths, so there is a pattern here. This degree is concerned with studying the human mind, how it works, and how to exploit it in the case of Covert Operatives. It also raises your Sim’s Charisma, Logic, and Research and Debate skills, just like the History degree. However, it focuses more on Logic than Charisma, which makes it better suited for this career branch.

Base Military Career Levels

Raw Recruit

Level: 1
Pay: $26/hour
Work Days: Monday – Friday
Work Hours: 6 AM – 2 PM
Requirements for Promotion: Fitness Level 2

The first rank of the Military Career sees your Sim starting as a recruit in the military. From there, they have to work their way up through the ranks of the military, proving their physical prowess, ability to lead their peers, and dedication to serving their country. At this level, however, you’ll want to focus on raising their fitness most to get the promotion to level two.

Private Fourth Class

Level: 2
Pay: $34/hour
Work Days: Monday – Friday
Work Hours: 6 AM – 2 PM
Requirements for Promotion: Fitness Level 3
Promotion Rewards: $581 bonus, Medal Display Case, Bravery Heart Medal

Reaching the second level of the Military Career shows that your Sim has started rising through the ranks at their base, catching the attention of their superiors. However, they are still very low on the totem pole, meaning they have to obey orders from anyone above them, which will end up being tasks they won’t want to do. Since your Sim still only needs Fitness to get promoted, you will want to primarily focus on that. However, at this point, you should start working on either Logic or Charisma, depending on your intended branch. Don’t worry about getting it too high, though, since you only need it to be at level four by the time you pick your Sim’s branch.

Lacking Corporal

Level: 3
Pay: $54/hour
Work Days: Monday – Friday
Work Hours: 7 AM – 3 PM
Requirements for Promotion: Fitness Level 4
Promotion Rewards: $756 bonus, Medal of Questioning

While your Sim is a Lacking Corporal, they are made responsible for the security of their military base, which requires them to receive training for sparring and fending off anyone who may try to infiltrate or attack it. Reaching this level gives your Sim the daily task of going for a jog to help them work on their Fitness skill and increase their job performance. At this stage, you should continue focusing on raising your Sim’s Fitness skill level and working on their Logic or Charisma intermittently. At this point, you should also make sure to get your Sim’s Medal Display Case placed so that you can start filling it with all of their medals and proudly displaying them for all to see.

Sergeant Minor

Level: 4
Pay: $71/hour
Work Days: Monday – Friday
Work Hours: 7 AM – 3 PM
Requirements for Promotion: Fitness Level 5
Promotion Rewards: $869 bonus, Construction Engineering Medal

Your Sim reaching the rank of Sergeant Minor means that they have become one the best soldiers on the entire base regarding sparring. By this level, your Sim has taken on more responsibility regarding base security, putting them in charge of a small group of their fellow soldiers. For their last promotion in the base Military Career branch, they only have to focus on their physicality as they continue to train and master combat. Reaching this level will also let your Sim spar with others, allowing them to show off their prowess no matter where they are or who wants to see it.

Warrant Officer

Level: 5
Pay: $96/hour
Work Days: Monday – Friday
Work Hours: 8 AM – 4 PM
Requirements for Promotion: Fitness Level 6
Promotion Rewards: $1,130 bonus, Eagle Eye Medal

Warrant Officers are the soldiers that have risen above most other soldiers at their base, taking the place of leadership after becoming extremely familiar with the drills and exercises of the base. They are competent and their potential has caught the eye of the highest-ranking officials of the base. Once your Sim has achieved this level of the Military Career, they are on the precipice of being able to command entire platoons of Sims on and off the battlefield. Upon getting promoted again, you’ll also be able to choose between the Military Career’s two branches.

Covert Operator Branch Levels

Evidence Eraser

Level: 6
Pay: $104/hour
Work Days: Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday
Work Hours: 6 PM – 2 AM
Requirements for Promotion: Logic Skill 4
Promotion Rewards: $1,299 bonus, Air Award Medal

Choosing to follow the Covert Operator branch sees your Sim signing up with one of the least known and least all recognized, branches of the military. They will embark on dangerous missions, infiltrate evil organizations, and plant bugs on suspects to gather information. If that fails, well, your Sim can always resort to interrogation. This does mean that your Sim will have to work a very irregular second shift schedule, which can take some time to get used to, especially if they live with other Sims.

At this level of the branch, your Sim works for the Covert Operations branch of the military to scrub top cases of evidence. Your Sim is responsible for ensuring that no dangerous information is available to the public. This is the first promotion that your Sim will have to get a high enough Logic for, and they won’t need Fitness anymore so you’ll want to focus on leveling logic above all else.

Conspiracy Squelcher

Level: 7
Pay: $119/hour
Work Days: Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday
Work Hours: 6 PM – 2 AM
Requirements for Promotion: Logic Skill 6
Promotion Rewards: $1,689 bonus, Listening Device, Medal of Supreme Bravery

When your Sim is a Conspiracy Squelcher, they are responsible for putting down any rumblings of suspicions or conspiracies around their neighborhood. This puts an interesting divide between them and civilian Sims, and they may learn some information about the suspicious rumblings behind the military they work for. Reaching this rank will also give your Sim the Listening Device, allowing them to bug their fellow Sims and listen in on their conversations. This can be a great way to help raise your Sim’s logic while also being a decent way to make some side cash while they aren’t working. You’ll also need to level up your Logic skill twice for your next promotion, so using your bug is a great way to reach that goal beside playing chess.

Clandestine Investigator

Level: 8
Pay: $179/hour
Work Days: Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday
Work Hours: 6 PM – 2 AM
Requirements for Promotion: Logic Skill 8
Promotion Rewards: $1,790 bonus, Ranking Rug, Medal of Discipline

Once your Sim is promoted to a Clandestine Investigator, they are given the responsibility of going on covert missions to investigate any strange happenings nearby. Secrecy is of the utmost importance in their work at this level, as the secrets they are exposed to during every mission being revealed could have disastrous consequences for all of society. While your Sim is at this level, they also will have to bug specific targets around town to piece together clues and learn their secrets. Your Sim will also have to raise their Logic skill two more levels for their next promotion and complete their daily task of searching the stars for evidence of alien life.

[REDACTED]

Level: 9
Pay: $297/hour
Work Days: Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday
Work Hours: 6 PM – 2 AM
Requirements for Promotion: Logic Skill 10
Promotion Rewards: $3,149 bonus, Tactical Genius Medal

Exactly what your Sim does for work at this level is unknown. While precisely what they do every day when they disappear off the lot is unknown, it is easy to assume that they play an even more significant role in protecting the common populace from the terrifying and dangerous secrets in the world. To get the promotion to the career’s last level, they’ll have to maximize their Logic Skill at level 10, so you’ll have to spend a ton of time leveling that skill. To get to the final level of your career, you’ll also want to complete your daily task of filing reports as often as possible.

Sim-In-Black

Level: 10
Pay: $422/hour
Work Days: Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday
Work Hours: 6 PM – 2 AM
Requirements for Promotion: None
Promotion Rewards: $4,567, Medal of Courage

There are very few Sim-In-Blacks throughout the entire world of the Sims, and reaching this rank means that your Sim is one of them. Once your Sim gets this rank you won’t have to worry about leveling particular skills or raising job performance any longer. Instead, you and your Sim can enjoy their accumulated wealth and wait for retirement while they embark into the world and overcome the most challenging foes the Sim military has to deal with.

Officer Branch Levels

Fourth Lieutenant

Level: 6
Pay: $104/hour
Work Days: Monday – Friday
Work Hours: 10 AM – 6 PM
Requirements for Promotion: Charisma Level 4
Promotion Rewards: $1,299 bonus, Military Grade Flagpole, Air Award

The Fourth lieutenant in the military are responsible for training and leading entire platoons of soldiers. This means that to continue progressing down this branch, your Sim will have to continue advancing their Charisma to better influence and teach their inferiors. Once your Sim reaches this rank, they’ll also be given the unique Military Grade Flagpole furniture item to place in front of their house and show off their military pride to the entire neighborhood.

Courageous Captain

Level: 7
Pay: $119/hour
Work Days: Monday – Friday
Work Hours: 10 AM – 6 PM
Requirements for Promotion: Charisma Level 6
Promotion Rewards: $1,689 bonus, Medal of Supreme Bravery

A Courageous Captain is one of the most experienced and battle-tested soldiers in the entire military. If your Sim reaches this level of the career, it means that they have seen countless moments of danger and battle and have managed to survive and come out on top. In recognition of these achievements, your Sim has been placed in command of an entire company of soldiers. This means that they are the banner child for the company and the symbol of its successes or failures. This means that if they fail personally, it could jeopardize the continued existence of the entire company. To make sure they continue representing their company well, they’ll have to continue practicing and leveling their Charisma skill.

Lieutenant Colonel

Level: 8
Pay: $179/hour
Work Days: Monday – Friday
Work Hours: 10 AM – 6 PM
Requirements for Promotion: Charisma Level 8
Promotion Rewards: $1,790 bonus, Modified B64 Training Bot, Medal of Discipline

After successfully leading their own company, your Sim can take charge of an entire battalion, putting them in order of coordinating and organizing battles and missions. This puts even more responsibility on your Sim’s shoulders and puts them in the position to gain great honor and status among their peers. When they reach this rank, they’ll also get access to the unique Modified B64 Training Bot. This is a skill item that can be used by one or multiple Sims to level up their Fitness skill and raise their social score if they do it together. However, your Sim will still have to focus on improving their Charisma and not their Fitness.

Brigadier

Level: 9
Pay: $297/hour
Work Days: Monday – Friday
Requirements for Promotion: Charisma Level 10
Promotion Rewards: $3,149 bonus, Tactical Genius Medal

Once your Sim reaches the rank of Brigadier, they no longer have to deploy on the field during missions. Instead, they are responsible for checking the plans and missions of the military’s numerous platoons to check them double, ensuring they are as safe and well thought out as they can be. This is the penultimate level for this career branch, so you’ll have to maximize your Sim’s Charisma before they can receive their final promotion.

Grand Marshal

Level: 10
Pay: $422/hour
Work Days: Monday – Friday
Requirements for Promotion: None
Promotion Rewards: $4,567 bonus, Medal of Courage

When your Sim reaches the rank of Grand Marshal they can hold their head high, knowing that they are the highest ranked individual in the entire military. When they get this distinguished position, they have revealed themselves to be one of the most capable military minds and leaders in the world, allowing them to lead their soldiers with respect and dignity. Once they have reached this distinguished position, they no longer have to worry about promotions and can instead worry first and foremost about leading their charges until they eventually retire.

Retirement and Pension

When your Sims reach the elder age stage, they can retire from their careers, allowing you to not worry about sending them to work throughout the week. Once they retire, they also get a pension, so they have some income to continue living on for the rest of their days. For the Military Career, your Sim will get $430 daily from their pension, which is one of the highest in the entire game.

FAQs

Question: What Sims 4 Expansion has the Military Career?

Answer: The military career is included in the StrangerVille expansion.

Question: What is the Highest-paying Job in Sims 4?

Answer: The job that pays Sims the most is the Officer branch of the Military Career.

Question: What Skills are Needed for the Military Career in Sims 4?

Answer: The base levels of the Military Career require your Sim to raise their Fitness level. Then, depending on which career branch they choose, they will have to level up either Charisma or Logic to the maximum level of 10.

Conclusion

The Military Career can be challenging to play through, but the Sims that complete it are rewarded with one of the highest salaries in the game and some fantastic, unique items. It also comes with decently consistent work schedules, which can be a savior when finding a work/life balance for your Sims. So, if your want a Sim that does work they can be proud of and make a ton of money from, the Military Career is a perfect option for you to consider.

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