The Sims 4 Get to Work Expansion

Features, Active Careers, and Open for Business

My guides to Get to Work are available: Baking, Aliens, Doctor, Detective, Photography, Sixam, the Alien World, Scientist, and Opening a Business! The next Pack releases December 8, 2015 - Get Together Expansion.
The Sims 4 Get to Work Expansion Pack
The Sims 4 Get to Work Expansion Splash Screen

Overview and Release Date

The Sims 4 Get to Work Expansion Pack was released March 31, 2015. It is a hybrid of two very popular Expansions from The Sims history - The Sims 3 Ambitions and -- finally -- The Sims 2 Open for Business! Here are the gameplay features brought with Get to Work that a player new to the Expansion or seeking to buy it needs to know.

Open for Business!

The Sims 4 Get to Work Expansion Pack has features from The Sims 2 Open for Business
Click to Enlarge. The Sims 2's Open for Business features are back in Sims 4!

Get to Work lets you turn a lot into a retail store, which can then be boosted with signs and other decorations to increase curb appeal from Sims out shopping. You can make nearly any kind of store you like, from selling foods to clothing and almost anything from Buy Mode. We have a Full Guide to Retail that can help you explore this feature and provide tips on how to manage a business. Here is an overview of features:

  • Customize through build mode and make any type of business you like: an art gallery, bakery, grocer (sort of), clothing boutique, or bookstore. You can sell nearly anything!
  • Dozens of new build mode objects to make your shop your own. Truly beautiful stores can be created by those with skill in building.
  • Hire and fire employees, manage their uniforms, and promote them when they're dissatisfied with pay.
  • Employees level in retail skills - from their ability to drive sales to their work ethic and ability to clean
  • Gain perk points that let you boost aspects of your business and your own Sim's ability to drive sales.
  • Synergizes well with crafting Skills like Painting, Handiness' Woodworking, and the new Skills in the Get to Work Expansion Pack
  • View profit reports for the day, and gradually evolve your store with more expensive products
  • Vending machines let Sims buy food without interacting with your staff. This can let you cook while they buy it up!
  • Adjust your markup to either sell many products at a low price, or few products at a very high price
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Three New Active Careers

Doctor, Detective, and Scientist are all featured in the EP. Players get to choose whether they follow their Sim to work and take control or not. This offers you some flexibility in play. However, to really get promotions effectively, you'll need to assume control. Players can extend the work day by up to 2 hours by clicking the meter at top left, which is also used to leave work early.

Doctor

Explore My Mods! Color Picker for Builders, Seasons Tuner, Dine Out Reloaded and a Gameplay Overhaul! Like other modders, I've been working to make The Sims 4 a better game. Check out my many mods here!

The Sims 4 Get to Work - The Hospital for the Doctor Career
Click to Enlarge. Hospital for the Doctor Career

The Sims 4 Get to Work Doctor works with a Sick Patient
Click to Enlarge. Healing and Diagnosing Sick Patients will be part of the Doctor Career

Doctor Career Features
The Doctor Career requires the most work out of a player of all three Active Careers. You will need to determine which disease a patient has, based on their visual symptoms and the tests you perform. You can read a full Guide to the Doctor Career here.

  • Use treadmill tests and X-rays to help diagnose patients
  • Analyze swabs to figure out their illness
  • Perform body scans, take temperatures, and discuss patient health
  • Deliver babies and perform surgeries on patients that require it
  • Make house calls and sometimes treat multiple Sims
  • See your Doctor grow in skill at diagnosing and treating patients as they advance

Detective

Police Station in the Sims 4 - this is where Detectives will Work
Click to Enlarge. A shot inside the Sims 'Get to Work' Police Station

Detective is one of the New Active Careers
Click to Enlarge. A shot of the Detective Career in The Sims 4 Get to Work.

Investigate Crime Scenes as a Detective
Click to Enlarge. Investigate Crime Scenes

Detective Career Features
The Detective Career starts with some low level work but grows to allow your Sim to fully pursue criminals and solve their crimes. You will eventually take on your own cases and get to interrogate suspects in order to get confessions. Here's a full guide to the Detective Career

  • Will work out of the new police station venue, but travel to crime scenes to gather clues
  • Search suspects, fingerprint them, and take mug shots
  • Gradually piece together information via photographing/gathering clues and interviewing witnesses
  • The notebook serves to give you a list of physical features and traits of your suspect
  • With enough evidence, issue an APB on your suspect and apprehend them
  • Interrogate the suspect, with hilarious interactions under the good/bad cop menus and eventually get them to confess

Scientist Career

The Sims 4 Get to Work - The Scientist Career makes Inventions
Click to Enlarge. A Scientist tests out a Freeze Ray they Invented

The Sims 4 Get to Work Expansion Pack - The Scientist's Invention Constructor
Click to Enlarge. Using the Invention Constructor

Scientist Career Features
The Scientist Career is the easiest of the three, but offers the biggest rewards! You will have Eureka! moments when your Sim has had a breakthrough, then get to build a new design using the invention constructor. This one offers a good deal of freedom when at work, but if you're pushing for promotions you must follow objectives. Learn more in the guide to the Scientist Career.

  • Unlock simple, helpful inventions like the Hover Lamp and Momentum Conserver, but many more powerful creations await you!
  • Unlock the SimRay and gradually upgrade it with the ability to Transform objects (and make LOTS of money!) and mind control Sims.
  • The Cloning Machine will let you duplicate many smaller objects, and can be upgraded to clone a copy of your Sim.
  • The Satellite Dish can prevent Alien abductions, which is VERY helpful to those players who don't want to be whisked off and impregnated by an extraterrestrial.
  • Concoct Serums that will allow a Sim to influence emotion, stave off death, and even turn into a ghost for a time.
  • Enjoy one of the most productive collecting lots in existence, with many opportunities to pick up metals and fossils.

Aliens!

The Sims 4 Get to Work - A Portal to Meet Aliens in the Expansion
Click to Enlarge. A Dimensional Portal leads to the alien world of Sixam

The Sims 4 Get to Work - A female Alien
Click to Enlarge. A female Alien on Sixam. Males wear similar high-tech clothing

Aliens are in the Expansion, and may abduct Sims at random times. Male Sims may be impregnated by Aliens, and will have babies. You can choose to keep the baby or send it back to its homeworld, permanently. Aliens are also walking around town in disguise. The Scientist Career and Rocket Science can both lead Sims to the planet Sixam, where you can meet Aliens and even befriend them to add them to your household.

Playing as an Alien, you can disguise yourself at any time and even alter the way your Alien appears while in disguise. Aliens have the power to discover other Sims' traits, as well as empathize with them to experience the same Emotion as that Sim. Click here for a full guide to Aliens.

New Skills

Photography

The Sims 4 Get to Work - Photography Skill
Click to Enlarge. Level up your Photography Skill.

Using a Camera in Get to Work
Click to Enlarge. Take Pictures of the Game World.

Photography Features
The Photography Skill lets Sims take pictures of the game world, while also being able to sell the photographs. You can take up to five pictures when you use the camera, and choose a size for the picture and apply filter effects. These can be framed and hung on a wall to display in your Sim's home. This Skill features only 5 levels, but they avoided unnecessary skilling to master it.

  • Capture Pictures of anything in-game
  • Sell Photographs and improve your Sim's Skill level to get more options

Baking

Get to Work will feature a Bakery Skill
Click to Enlarge. A Picture of a Bakery in The Sims 4 Get to Work.

Baking Features
The Baking Skill is largely like cooking and gourmet cooking, but focusing on baked goods made via the oven and cupcake factory. The baking skill, along with the other two cooking Skills will allow your Sim to make a retail food shop, where Sims can buy dishes. A restaurant is not possible, but you can make loads of dough (heh) on selling high-quality baked goods.

Other Features

New Collectibles
There are Geodes that can be found on Sixam. You may also collect three new plant types there, two metals, two crystals, and a new element for your collections. These are largely exclusive to the alien planet.

Other Get to Work Guides

Expansion Guide
Retail Guide
Retail: Customers and Sales
Retail: Employees and Managing
Retail Perks in Get to Work
Aliens
Baking Skill Guide
Photography Skill Guide
Detective Career
Doctor Career, Diseases and Diagnosing Patients
Scientist Career
Planet Sixam (Alien World)

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Comments (71)

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New
Danielsays...
so how do i download this?? is there a button that i should click cuz i dont see a button
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Admin
Playalotsays...
Any of The Sims packs can be bought through Origin, we don't actually sell anything here, we're just a guide site for fans. Smile
Often there are sales on Origin so it is worth checking out prices and shopping around by looking at other sites such as Amazon depending on what country you live in.
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Regular
Zoesays...
Thank you for this amazing guide! Much appreciated.Grin
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New
callacakessays...
I can't seem to figure out how to follow my sim to work. Once they're leaving for work, I am active on the sim that will be leaving and right click to follow, but it doesn't give me an option to go with them to work.
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Admin
Playalotsays...
There are only three active careers. Scientist, Detective and Doctor. You'll need the expansion pack Get To Work to have these three careers in your game. All other careers are just the normal 'rabbit hole-disappear of the edge of the lot' kind of careers.

If your sim is in one of the active lot there is a window that pops up in-game when it is time for work and you have to chose to follow your sim to work or not for the sim to be able to leave for work, so you can't miss the opportunity as the game will stay paused until you decide.
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New
Lindssays...
I just recently purchased/downloaded this expansion pack because it was 50% off on Origin. However, downloading the expansion seems to have wiped all of my previous worlds, families, and build lots. Does anyone know how to restore these?
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Admin
Playalotsays...
There are many tips on the page I am linking you to. Have a read through and I'm sure something there will help.
Restoring Games, Locating Missing Files etc
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New
David Blandsays...
I stopped playing TS4 for just that reason. A simple update wiped out 80% of all my custom content twice! Clothes, decorations, furnishings, etc. for over a dozen characters - all wiped out in an instant, and I have no control over auto updates. That's just too much work to keep doing over.

I'm beginning to hate internet-connected games.
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Admin
Playalotsays...
It's a real challenge trying to keep everything up-to-date for sure. I don't use mods most of the time but when I do I keep really good notes on where it is from and the creators last up-dates etc. I manage my CC by creators name too as it makes it a bit easier when tracking down broken CC etc.
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New
David Blandsays...
That's a great idea but I have far too much CC for that to be practical. Surely it would be ideal for actual "mods," but the vast majority of my CC is simply clothes, decorations, and furnishings - over 1000 items.

In TS3 updates would often cause bugs to appear, but this was usually due to conflicting mods - not CC like clothes and such. And though it did happen (conflicts from normal CC), it didn't pull everything from the game, forcing me to start all over like it does withj TS4. Heck, some of the altered (and disabled) content was from the game's own repository of characters and buildings. I would have sure thought those items were safe.

Alas, it's just not worth it. But no problem though. I've only bought 2 game packs for TS4 and it was a major disappointment from the open worlds of TS3. Maybe we'll have better luck when TS5 rolls around in 4 years? :p
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New
louisa ausays...
Hi. Thanks for your yelp before.Anytime my Sim gets a scientific breakthrough or asks about suspect, I'm told to check my Sims notebook, but anytime I check it, it says "no entries have been made to(my Sims name) notebook "the only time I saw any entry to the notebook was when my Sims went fishing. Other than that, I don't see any other entry. Initially I was not so much bothered, but now I need those entries for my Sims in the detective career to arrest the right suspect
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Admin
Playalotsays...
There are different tabs on the notebook interface so maybe click through them to see if the entries have been made under a different tab but you just didn't notice?
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New
bluesays...
Yes it sounds interesting and also if your sim is having trouble you can eat lots and lots of food to crate a food baby.
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New
Gabbysays...
Hi Carl, i have the get to work pack for a while now but im still not sure how to use it. I opened my own bakery and when i place my goodies in the warming or freezing rack, the sims dont sit and eat nor drink anything even though it in the rack. They just buy it and walk around. Any suggestions on how to fix that problem? Also i placed a pizza hut retail store in one of the worlds and hardly anyone goes there and no one sits and eats any suggestions?? Thank you Smile
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Admin
Playalotsays...
You are expecting the game to do things that just aren't supported. Get to Work is about retail not actually about sims sitting and eating etc. That kind of game play comes with Dine Out but again not really in the form you are talking about. You can sort of trick the sims into sitting and eating in your bakery by having free items placed on a counter. Sometimes sims will take a helping and sit down to eat it but any items they buy will just 'disappear' into their inventory. (Which actually does not retain the item but just deletes it.) So the same for your pizza shop. Sims may buy items from there but again, won't sit and eat the things they buy as technically they do not exist once bought. I'm not sure on the exact timing. It may be that food items remain temporarily in the NPC's inventory but it certainly will not be there for long.
I'm sorry you were hoping for a different type of game play but, like I suggested, if you place a plate of free food in your bakery you may get more sims sitting and eating. Down side of that they may be too busy chatting and eating to actually purchase much.
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New
Ashcash29says...
I just recently added the gtw pack...besides going to work. What are other things you can do?..I know there are objects and things that come with the pack, but when do you use it? For example there are rooms for a hospital...but i build a hospital on a open lot...but its not running like a hospital? I dont want to use the cheat..how do i make the hospital i built run as a clinic or hospital? And if i cant what is the point of having all these objects that u cant use?HuhHuh
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Admin
Playalotsays...
The career lots, hospital, police station and science lab are only accessible with a sim who is currently actively employed in those careers. Sad When you have a sim in one of those careers you can follow them to work when the window pops up at the time their work day begins. Apart from that those lots are completely inaccessible. You can use those objects on a normal lot for staging for a story or something I guess.
You can also buy/build and run a retail business.
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New
lassiegirlsays...
Loved playing Sims 3 but mostly loved the Seasons... is there any chance 4 is going to bring that around, especially since they do have a Christmas package? Hoping they do.
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Admin
Playalotsays...
There has been no news regarding seasons at all. Anything anyone says at this point is pure guess-work. Smile
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New
lassiegirlsays...
Smile A friend of mine has one of the games I don't know which one that a Chef comes to your home, to cook... could you tell me which expansion pack has that option... Thank you
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Admin
Playalotsays...
Base game. Just click on your sims fridge and choose 'hire staff'.
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New
Ashtonsays...
I have been playing the Get to Work extension and love it, but sometimes I want my Sim to go to work while I work with other Sims in the household. When I try this my Sim at work starts doing poorly because she isn't getting directed by me. Can I put her in a self care mode to do her job while I work with other Sims, or am I stuck playing her to make sure that she does her job?
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Admin
Playalotsays...
If you send the sim in the correct emotion and choose the 'work hard' tone they usually tend to progress quite well.
Guide to Emotions
Guide to Careers in general Scroll down till you see the heading:Work Tones - Working Hard, or getting Moodlets to learn about work tones.
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New
Ashtonsays...
Awesome! I'm going to give it a try! Thank you!
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New
Semrasays...
Hi I was wondering with the sims 4 get to work pack if the previous jobs will still be on there like criminal career or what not and if they are can you go to work with them on those jobs? Also what if you have a family or two parents go to work do you still go to work with them what if its both parents at the same time? What happens to the kids?
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Senior
Playalotsays...
All Base Game careers/jobs are unaffected by adding the Get To Work expansion. So they remain exactly the same, you can not go to work with your sim on these careers... only the new ones that the Expansion Pack adds.
Playing 2 parents: you get a pop up window when it is time for your sims to got to work. This allows you to send them to work alone (plays like the base game careers) or you can go with them (plays actively with that sim at the work location).
With the sim you send alone, you can still choose the 'work hard' tone from clicking the little triangle above their icon heads in the UI bar.
With the sim you go to work with there are all new things to do, tasks etc that will make their career progression bar move towards their next promotions.
Any children either get 'sent to daycare' or go to school as normal and again you can choose that they study hard etc as you wish.
I played 8 sims, 3 had active careers, 3 kids and 2 elders. This all worked fine. I just flipped between the active careers as I felt like it. All sims progressed and maxed their careers and the kids all got A's.
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New
kalyiasays...
this is a good game
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New
Katherinesays...
Is there a way I can try the expansion before purchasing
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Senior
Playlotsays...
Sadly not really. You could maybe watch some you-tube videos on the game play - just google Get To Work and see what you find.
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New
Larkinsays...
So do I need to load the new places for my sims to work from the get to work pack? Or will it let me join them just automatically? I just got the pack, still new.
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Senior
Playlotsays...
When it's time for your sim to go to work they will get a pop up option of following them to work i.e. Going to work with them. Take that option and the game will auto load the work lot.
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New
mikridebsays...
Hey guys. I have a problem with my game. I got a suspect but I can't interogate them, as when I press that choice, my sim says she can't get him out of the cage. I don't know what to do, I always arrest and re-arrest that suspect and there is a problem with getting them out. What do I do?
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Senior
Playlotsays...
Try quitting your game and restarting it between your sims next career day. Often a restart fixes this. If the perp is still stuck in the jail cell on the next work day enter the bb.enablefreebuild cheat and remove the door and try again.
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New
Sisisays...

Tysm! I've been wondering why my male sim stomach was getting bigger because it doesn't really eat anything he's a vamp. Then I saw this, he's pregnant he also got abducted 2 times.But thank you again!

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New
JANsays...

my sim wont go too work .He is lazy bum lol..clicked the briefcase in both places ,,He still wont go ..any suggestions how to get him to go ..

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New
Emmasays...

Hi I got get to work but now cats and dogs isn't working I don't know what to do. Before I get any packs I always come here to check them out

THANKS FOR HELPING ME

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Admin
Playalotsays...

Try deleting the localthumbcache.package file from your The Sims 4 folder. After that if you are still having issues try a game repair. In Origin > Games Library tab: Right-click on Sims 4 or Sims 3 and select Repair.

If you are still having issues then you may need to contact Origin Help

Here's a forum post with many links to help tips Forum Help Post

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New
tomsays...

what is the cheat for sicknesses



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