I decided that I wanted majors a Sim chooses to be more dependent on the Sims and not randomized. Yes, this may mean that sometimes I have more Sims in one major than I normally prefer, but that’s ok. But that’s how it is in real life. Some majors have more people in them than others.
Major
To me the following aspects of a Sim affect major:
- Aspiration
- Career for after University
- Personality
- Interests
- Skills
The most important one is the career for after University. This is usually determined by their Lifetime Wish. For those going to University without a career based Lifetime Wish, I have to decide what career they get, if any. This is also complicated by BACC rules. As if there is only 1 position open the Sim with the Lifetime Wish for it will get priority over the Sim that doesn’t.
For example purposes here, I’m going to use teen Keith Foley. He’s not got a career related Lifetime Wish and he’s University bound.
See below for the career section for how I decided what career Keith will be doing.
Keith’s career is Education. Which could be any major which is no help. But Education is not his super ideal career due to BACC restrictions. His super ideal career is Journalism. So I feel that Keith would choose a major that would work for that career.
Those majors are: Psychology, Political Science, Philosophy, Literature, History.
Skill wise Keith doesn’t a lot of skills and none high enough that it alone would influence major. If he had a high skill category or 3-4 points in 3-4 skills, I would see which majors those were associated with.
Personality wise Keith is very outgoing and a little mean.
- Psychology: Outgoing, Serious*, Playful, Neat
- Political Science: Outgoing*, Active, Playful, Neat
- Physics: Serious, Playful, Neat
- Philosophy: Outgoing, Serious*, Playful
- Mathematics: Serious* Playful, Neat
- Literature: Outgoing, Active, Playful*
- History: Outgoing, Serious*, Playful
- Economics: Outgoing*, Serious, Playful
- Drama: Outgoing*, Active, Serious, Playful
- Biology: Active, Serious*, Neat
- Art: Outgoing, Playful*
Personality traits with a * are the ones that affect skills requiring 5 points. The others require 4. If none have a * the personality doesn’t affect skill gain of the one requiring 5 points (like Mechanical)
So that drops his majors down to: Political Science if we only look at the ones with Outgoing having a * since he’s not Serious, Playful, Active, or Neat and nothing is helped by being Mean.
Career
So for a career, here’s what I think would affect it:
- Aspiration
- Personality
- Interests
I think all are equally important.
Aspiration-based
- Adventurer – Knowledge, Pleasure
- Architecture – Knowledge, Fortune
- Artist – Fortune, Romance
- Athletic – Fortune, Popularity
- Business – Fortune, Popularity
- Criminal – Fortune, Knowledge
- Culinary – Family, Romance, Popularity, Pleasure
- Dance – Fortune, Romance
- Education – Knowledge, Family
- Entertainment – Fortune, Romance, Popularity, Pleasure
- Gamer – Fortune, Pleasure
- Intelligence – Knowledge, Romance
- Journalism – Knowledge, Family, Popularity
- Law – Fortune, Popularity
- Law Enforcement – Family, Popularity
- Medical – Fortune, Knowledge
- Military – Family, Romance, Popularity
- Music – Family, Romance, Pleasure
- Natural Science – Knowledge
- Oceanography – Knowledge, Pleasure
- Paranormal – Fortune, Romance, Pleasure
- Politics – Fortune, Popularity
- Science – Knowledge, Family
- Show Business – Fortune Romance, Popularity, Pleasure
- Slacker – Romance, Pleasure
For me Primary aspiration related careers are careers that he would likely highly consider. Secondary aspiration related careers are ones that they could see themselves in. Ones not associated with their aspiration are ones they wouldn’t want to do. Ideal ones would be ones that lined up with both aspirations
Keith is Family / Knowledge
Ideal jobs would be: Education, Journalism, Science
Not ideal, but high on the list: Culinary, Law Enforcement, Military, Music
The settling on a job ones: Adventurer, Architecture, Criminal, Intelligence, Medical, Natural Science, Oceanography,
Personality based:
- Adventurer – Active, Outgoing
- Architecture – Serious, Playful
- Artist – Playful, Outgoing
- Athletic – Active, Outgoing
- Business – Serious, Playful, Outgoing
- Criminal – Active, Playful, Mean
- Culinary – Serious, Playful
- Dance – Active, Playful, Outgoing
- Education – Serious, Outgoing, Neat
- Entertainment – Playful, Outgoing
- Gamer – Serious, Playful
- Intelligence – Serious, Neat
- Journalism – Playful, Outgoing
- Law – Serious, Outgoing, Neat
- Law Enforcement – Serious, Active, Neat
- Medical – Serious, Neat
- Military – Active, Outgoing
- Music – Playful, Outgoing
- Natural Science – Serious, Active, Neat
- Oceanography – Active, Neat
- Paranormal – Playful, Outgoing, Neat
- Politics – Serious, Playful, Outgoing
- Science – Serious, Neat
- Show Business – Serious, Playful, Active, Outgoing
- Slacker – Playful, Outgoing
Ideal would be careers where you met all of them. Non-ideal are ones that you meet some of, but not all.
Keith is 4/10/4/4/3. So he’s Outgoing and Mean. Average on everything else. He has no ideal jobs based on personality as no jobs have just Outgoing and Mean.
For non-ideal we only look at the ideal jobs from aspiration: Education, Journalism, Science
Non-ideal: Education, Journalism
Interests Based:
I use interests as a way to look at the non-ideal ones and compare to his interests and decide which likely fits better. I don’t use a hard and fast rule here.
Looking at his interests which are:
His super ideal career is Journalism.
Journalism in the BACC requires a population mark to be met. And we’re not near that. So it goes to the next job of Education. Which is open to college graduates. So that’s what Keith will be doing. But we’ll keep his super ideal career in mind for what major he chooses in case we do hit that population mark of 1000.
Seera's Simming Journal 