The Sims 4 career cheat is careers.promote followed by the career’s code, for example careers.promote business. Open the console with Ctrl+Shift+C on PC or Mac (all four shoulder buttons on PlayStation and Xbox), type testingcheats true, then the promote code. Each use moves the Sim up one level. careers.demote moves them down one level. The tables below give the code for all 33 full-time and active careers, plus part-time jobs, teen jobs and school.
The commands come from EA’s official Sims 4 cheats page, which lists careers.promote, careers.demote and careers.remove_career but no career codes. The codes come from fan and press lists, compared side by side: Sims Community’s career cheat table (January 13, 2026), PC Gamer’s cheat list (updated April 23, 2026), GamesRadar+ (updated June 10, 2026) and the Sims Wiki’s cheats page, with GGRecon, SegmentNext, Gamertweak and Snooty Sims as tie-breakers. Level counts and branches come from the Sims Wiki’s Career tracks page. Everything was checked on October 31, 2026 UTC.
Table of Contents
Quick answer: Sims 4 career cheats
- Turn cheats on: Ctrl+Shift+C, then
testingcheats true. - Promote:
careers.promote [code](one level per use; the Sim must already be in that career). - Demote:
careers.demote [code]. - Join a career:
careers.add_career [code]. Quit:careers.remove_career [code]. Retire with a pension:careers.retire [code]. - Already at the top? According to the Sims Wiki, promoting a Sim at the top level gives a pay rise instead.
- Achievements: EA says any cheat that needs testingcheats true turns off achievements and trophies for the current save only.
The Scientist career from Get to Work uses the code adult_active_scientist. Image: Electronic Arts
How to use careers.promote (PC, Mac, PS, Xbox)
- Load the household and click the Sim you want to promote, so they are the active Sim.
- Open the cheat console. EA’s page gives Ctrl+Shift+C on PC or Mac. On PlayStation or Xbox, hold all four shoulder buttons at once.
- Type
testingcheats trueand press Enter. GamesRadar+ notes that the career cheats only work with this turned on. - If the Sim doesn’t have the job yet, type
careers.add_career [code]first. Both the Sims Wiki and GamesRadar+ say the Sim must already work in the career before a promotion works. - Type
careers.promote [code]and press Enter. Repeat it once for each level you want to climb. Going from level 1 to level 10 takes nine uses.
There’s no “set career level” command in EA’s list or on the Sims Wiki, so repeating careers.promote is the way to jump to a set level. On console, EA’s rule applies: testingcheats turns off trophies and achievements for that save, but your other saves keep them. Our full Sims 4 cheats list has the money, skill, build mode and CAS codes, and covers how the console works on each platform.
Base game career cheats
All 11 base game careers have 10 levels, except one branch noted below. The branch column shows where the career splits, according to the Sims Wiki. “Also listed as” gives a second code that at least one source uses instead.
| Career | Promote code | Also listed as | Branches (split at level) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Astronaut | careers.promote astronaut |
– | Space Ranger / Interstellar Smuggler (8) |
| Athlete | careers.promote athletic |
athlete (Sims Community, Sims Wiki) | Professional Athlete / Bodybuilder (5) |
| Business | careers.promote business |
– | Management / Investor (7) |
| Criminal | careers.promote criminal |
– | Boss / Oracle (6) |
| Culinary | careers.promote culinary |
– | Chef / Mixologist (6) |
| Entertainer | careers.promote entertainer |
– | Musician / Comedian (5) |
| Painter | careers.promote painter |
– | Master of the Real / Patron of the Arts (7) |
| Secret Agent | careers.promote secretagent |
– | Diamond Agent / Villain (8); Villain has an 11th level |
| Style Influencer | careers.promote styleinfluencer |
influencer (GamesRadar+) | Stylist / Trend Setter (6) |
| Tech Guru | careers.promote techguru |
– | eSport Gamer / Start-up Entrepreneur (7) |
| Writer | careers.promote adult_writer |
writer (Sims Wiki) | Author / Journalist (6) |
Where the sources disagree, the main column uses the code that most of them list. If a code is rejected, try the alternative in the same row.
Expansion and game pack career cheats
You need the pack named in each row for that career to exist in your game. Active careers (marked “active”) are the ones where you go to work with your Sim.
| Career | Pack | Promote code | Levels and branches (Sims Wiki) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detective | Get to Work | careers.promote detective |
10, active |
| Doctor | Get to Work | careers.promote doctor |
10, active |
| Scientist | Get to Work | careers.promote adult_active_scientist |
10, active |
| Critic | City Living | careers.promote careers_adult_critic (PC Gamer: adult_critic) |
Arts Critic / Food Critic at 4 |
| Politician | City Living | careers.promote activist |
Politician / Charity Organizer at 5 |
| Social Media | City Living | careers.promote socialmedia |
Internet Personality / Public Relations at 4 |
| Gardener | Seasons | careers.promote adult_gardener |
Botanist / Floral Designer at 5 |
| Actor | Get Famous | careers.promote actor |
10, active |
| Military | StrangerVille | careers.promote military |
Covert Operator / Officer at 6 |
| Conservationist | Island Living | careers.promote conservationist |
Environmental Manager / Marine Biologist at 7 |
| Education | Discover University | careers.promote careers_adult_education |
Administrator / Professor at 6 |
| Engineer | Discover University | careers.promote careers_adult_engineer |
Computer / Mechanical Engineer at 7 |
| Law | Discover University | careers.promote careers_adult_law |
Judge / Private Attorney at 8 |
| Civil Designer | Eco Lifestyle | careers.promote careers_adult_civildesigner (Sims Community: civildesigner) |
Civic Planner / Green Technician at 4 |
| Salaryperson | Snowy Escape | careers.promote corporateworker |
Expert / Supervisor at 5 |
| Interior Decorator | Dream Home Decorator | careers.promote deco |
10, active |
| Romance Consultant | Lovestruck | careers.promote romanceconsultant |
Matchmaker / Relationship Counselor at 8 |
| Reaper | Life & Death | careers.promote active_reaper |
10, active |
| Undertaker | Life & Death | careers.promote mortician |
Funeral Director / Mortician at 5 |
| Naturopath | Enchanted by Nature | careers.promote naturopath |
Apothe-curist / Lifestyle Coaching at 6, active |
| Park Worker | Adventure Awaits | careers.promote parkworker |
Park Counselor / Park Ranger at 8 (the Sims Wiki lists it as full-time; Sims Community lists it as part-time) |
| Noble | Royalty & Legacy | careers.promote noble |
10, active |
Two codes that people often get wrong: the Politician career is activist, and the Undertaker career is mortician, even though Mortician is also the name of one branch. The Salaryperson code is corporateworker.
Royalty & Legacy's Noble career; Swordsmanship is part of its promotion tasks. Image: Electronic Arts
Sims 4 noble career cheats (Royalty & Legacy)
Royalty & Legacy came out on February 12, 2026 (Steam store page). Normally a Sim can’t just apply for the Noble career. The Sims Wiki lists three ways in: being knighted by a high-ranking noble, researching noble legacy in The Duchess Diaries, or having a throne on the lot. PC Gamer’s Royalty & Legacy cheats list a shortcut:
| Cheat | What it does |
|---|---|
careers.add_career noble |
Puts the Sim in the Noble career |
careers.promote noble |
One Noble rank up (Noble Newcomer to Kingdom Leader is 10 levels, per the Sims Wiki) |
careers.demote noble |
One Noble rank down |
The cheat gives the rank, not the skills behind it. The Sims Wiki’s level list shows most Noble promotions asking for Charisma, and some also ask for Swordsmanship (level 2 by rank 3, level 4 by rank 7). EA’s September 22, 2026 update (PC 1.128.90) fixed “Negotiate a Bonus” on the phone, which used to show up for non-Noble careers and then do nothing.
Part-time job and freelancer cheats
The Sims Wiki lists 3 levels for every part-time job. Adult codes are below. Teens use their own codes (next section).
| Job | Pack | Promote code |
|---|---|---|
| Babysitter | Base game | careers.promote parttime_babysitter |
| Barista | Base game | careers.promote parttime_barista |
| Fast Food Employee | Base game | careers.promote parttime_fastfood |
| Manual Laborer | Base game | careers.promote parttime_manual |
| Retail Employee | Base game | careers.promote parttime_retail |
| Diver | Island Living | careers.promote parttime_diver |
| Fisherman | Island Living | careers.promote parttime_fisherman |
| Lifeguard | Island Living | careers.promote parttime_lifeguard |
| Handyperson | For Rent | careers.promote parttime_handyperson (Sims Community only) |
| Simfluencer | High School Years | careers.promote parttime_simsfluencersidehustle |
| Video Game Streamer | High School Years | careers.promote parttime_streamersidehustle |
| Freelance Crafter (Maker) | Eco Lifestyle | careers.add_career careers_adult_freelancer_agency_maker |
| Freelance Writer | Base game | careers.add_career adult_freelancer_agency_writer (Gamertweak, Snooty Sims) |
| Paranormal Investigator | Paranormal Stuff | traits.equip_trait trait_Freelancer_Career_ParanormalInvestigator_License to get the license, then careers.promote paranormalinvestigator (PC Gamer) |
The Sims Wiki says freelance careers have no levels, so for those jobs the useful commands are add_career and remove_career. We left out codes for the freelance artist, programmer and fashion photographer jobs because the sources disagree on them or don’t list them at all.
Doctor (Get to Work) is an active career: careers.promote doctor moves it up one level. Image: Electronic Arts
Teen job, after-school and high school grade cheats
GGRecon’s High School Years cheat list gives separate codes for teen part-time jobs and notes that they only work on teens. The after-school activity codes come from Sims Community, and the packs come from the Sims Wiki.
| Teen job or activity | Pack | Promote code |
|---|---|---|
| Babysitter / Barista / Fast Food / Manual / Retail (teen) | Base game | teen_babysitter, teen_barista, teen_fastfood, teen_manual, teen_retail |
| Lifeguard (teen) | Island Living | careers.promote teen_lifeguard |
| Simfluencer / Video Game Streamer (teen) | High School Years | teen_simsfluencersidehustle, teen_streamersidehustle |
| High school grade | Base game | careers.promote highschool (raises the high school grade, per GGRecon) |
| Scouts | Seasons | careers.promote scout |
| Drama Club | Get Famous | careers.promote dramaclub |
| Cheer / Chess / Computer / Football Team | High School Years | hsteam_cheerteam, hsteam_chessteam, hsteam_computerteam, hsteam_footballteam |
| Soccer Team / E-Sports (university) | Discover University | careers_volunteer_soccerteam, career_volunteer_e-sports (GamesRadar+) |
Put careers.promote (or careers.demote) in front of any code in this table that doesn’t already show it. The Sims Wiki also lists gradeschool as an accepted name for child Sims at school.
Other career cheats worth knowing
| Cheat | What it does | Source |
|---|---|---|
careers.retire [code] |
Ends the career and pays a weekly pension | PC Gamer, GamesRadar+ |
careers.remove_career [code] |
The Sim quits that career | EA |
bb.ignoregameplayunlocksentitlement |
Unlocks career reward objects in Buy mode | EA |
sims.modify_career_outfit_in_cas |
Opens CAS to change the work outfit; the Sims Wiki says to run it again after each promotion | Sims Wiki, Sims Community |
Sims 4 career cheats not working? Fixes
- Nothing happens: check that testingcheats true is on and that the Sim already has that job. The Sims Wiki says the Sim must be working in the career for promote and demote to work.
- Wrong code: several careers have two codes in circulation (athletic or athlete, styleinfluencer or influencer, careers_adult_critic or adult_critic). Try the alternative from the tables above.
- Wrong Sim: the cheat applies to the selected Sim, so click the right household member first.
- After a patch: EA’s October 27, 2026 update (PC 1.129.39, console 2.40) has no changes to career cheats in its notes. If commands broke after that update, mods are the usual suspect. See our Sims 4 broken mods list for patch 1.129 and the October 2026 patch notes.
If your household is throwing a party tonight, our Sims 4 Spooky Day setup guide shows how to build the holiday yourself, since the game doesn’t come with one.
FAQ
What is the cheat to get promoted in Sims 4?
Turn on testingcheats true, then type careers.promote with the career’s code, such as careers.promote business. Each use moves the Sim up one level.
What is the business career cheat in Sims 4?
careers.promote business. The Business career splits into Management or Investor at level 7, according to the Sims Wiki.
What is the Salaryperson career cheat?
The code is corporateworker, so the cheat is careers.promote corporateworker. You need Snowy Escape.
Do career cheats disable achievements?
Yes. EA says any cheat that needs testingcheats true turns off achievements and trophies, but only for the save where you used it.
Can I set a career level directly?
Not with a command from EA’s list or the Sims Wiki. Use careers.promote once for each level instead.
Sources: EA, The Sims 4 cheats; Sims Community, career cheats (Jan 13, 2026); PC Gamer, Sims 4 cheats (Apr 23, 2026); PC Gamer, Royalty & Legacy cheats (Feb 18, 2026); GamesRadar+, career cheats (Jun 10, 2026); GGRecon, High School Years cheats; Sims Wiki (Fandom) pages “The Sims 4/cheats”, “Career tracks” and “Noble”; EA update notes for September 22 and October 27, 2026. Checked October 31, 2026 UTC.
Live: Follow today’s gaming news as it happens
Featured image: AI-generated illustration
