The Sims 4: Programming Skill Guide

The programming skill in the sims 4 is a really great skill to learn if you want to make a bit of money because there are so many opportunities to earn with this skill. It’s a necessary skill for careers like Secret Agent, Criminal, and the Tech Guru Career.

Your sim will be able to do so many new interactions with a computer, like making video games, hacking the lothario trust fund, and so much more. You can even choose to go good programmer or evil programmer! You can hack, or you can create, it’s all up to you. Let’s dig into all the interesting sides of The Sims 4 Programming Skill!

Ideal Mood For The Programming Skill

Every sims 4 trait has an ideal mood to gain the skill quicker which can really help your sim get through it as quickly as possible. For programming the ideal mood is Focused!

The simplest ways to get focused include Pondering Moves on the chess table or Browsing Simpedia on the computer. You could also take some time to paint a Mathematical Diagram when you’re already feeling focused and hang it in your home because it gives off a focused mood when your sim views it, so you can use this every time.

Traits That Help The Programming Skill

Genius

Since Focused is the best emotion for practicing the programming skill, the genius trait is a no-brainer. Geniuses will get focused moodlets often and will help grow your programming skill quicker.

Geek

The geek trait is a pretty obvious one too, as geeks will gain fun when they are using computers and a sim focused on programming will be spending a lot of time on the computer so they may as well enjoy it!

Loner

The loner trait is a decent option if your sim is going to be spending a lot of time in an office completely alone. Loners enjoy themselves when they are alone and programming is a one person job.

Computer Whiz (Aspiration)

The computer whiz aspiration will give your sim the Quick Learner bonus trait which can help them gain any skills more quickly. If you manage to finish the aspiration you’ll be rewarded with the Webmaster trait and you’ll have tons of new interactions with the computer for your sim to perform.

*Note: You have to get through a bit of the Tech Guru career in order to complete the aspiration!

How to Learn Programming

Just like most skills in The Sims 4, Programming allows you to learn from purchasing a book from the bookshelf or the computer. However, reading books for skills is way slower than actually participating in the activity. Plus, if you’re working on your programming by actually doing it, you’ll earn money at the same time.

The best way to learn how to program is to actually just do it! Click on your computer and click the interaction “practice programming” which will gain you the first level of the programming skill. Once you grow your skill you’ll see new interactions become available.

Programming Skill Levels

Programming Skill Level 1

When you first start gaining the programming skill, you’ll only be able to practice programming on the computer or read books about programming. As you grow you’ll gain more interesting programming tasks!

Programming Skill Level 2

When your sim reaches the second level of the programming skill you can now make plugins! This means you can gain the skill while working on something that will make you a bit of money. You can also now start hacking, and the first option given to you is to hack Llamacorn Listserv.

Programming Skill Level 3

Once your sim can get to level 3 of the programming skill they can now start to mod games which is something they can make a bit more money off of. They are also now able to hack the Lothario Trust Fund, which is fun because Don Lothario doesn’t need all that money!

Programming Skill Level 4

At level 4 of the programming skill your sim can now turn a little darker in the programming skill and start making viruses. Also, if your sim is a teen with the programming skill they can now hack school grades.

Programming Skill Level 5

At level 5 of the programming skill, your sim can now perform freelance work (outside of the freelancer career) and you now have the ability to hack the Landgraab systems, which is amazing because the Landgraab family has too much power!

Programming Skill Level 6

Now that your sim is at level 6 of the programming skill, they can now hack their work performance so they can get closer to a promotion!

Programming Skill Level 7

When your sim hits programming level 7 they can now start making mobile phone apps which are an awesome way to make money from royalties every day. They are also now given the option to hack the National Sims Security Agency.

Programming Skill Level 8

At level 8 of the programming skill, your sim doesn’t gain any new interactions but they do become way better at programming which can really help grow the skill and make more money.

Programming Skill Level 9

When your sim reaches level 9 of programming they can now start making video games that can pay you a nice royalty each day. They are also now allowed to hack plumbook.

Programming Skill Level 10

Congrats! Now your sim has maxed out the programming skill, meaning that they can now hack Crumplebottom Servers and also hack the Supercomputer which can only be done once a week.

If you don’t feel like waiting to gain the programming skill naturally, you can definitely use cheat codes! Simple start by typing in ctrl + alt + C and then type testingcheats true and hit enter, that will allow you to enter the following cheat and for cheats to be on. Then type stats.set_skill_level major_programming X and fill the X with whatever skill level you’d like your sim to have.

Reward Traits That Help With The Programming Skill

The first thing you can purchase from the reward store to help you gain the programming skill is the focused potion that can get your sim to feel extra focused for 3 hours. As we talked about above, being focused is the best mood for programming.

You may also choose to grab the morning sim or night owl reward trait that make it so your sims can grow their skills 25% faster either in mornings or at night. Valuable for all skills, not just programming.

The independent reward trait is another one that can be extremely valuable for a programmer. This one makes it so their social need decays at half the usual rate, which means they won’t need to be around other people nearly as often.

The next one you can purchase with satisfaction points is Savant, which will increase your sims skill gains 25% any time of the day. This actually stacks on top of morning sim or night owl so you could gain skills 50% faster if you grab both.

And finally, the last one you can purchase would be Never Weary. This is one of the best reward traits because it makes it so your sim literally never has to sleep. EVER. This is obviously useful because you could spend so much more time programming and less wasted time sleeping, however, it is the most expensive one.

Using Handiness to Help Programming

Having a high handiness skill is a really good idea if you’re trying to make the most out of your high programming skill. You’ll be able to do upgrades to your computer like making it unbreakable (having a broken computer makes programming kinda hard…) and you can upgrade your IP Spoofers which can make hacking easier.

Ways to Make Money With Programming

Hacking

Hacking is a really easy and relatively fast way to make money from your programming skill. You’ll be given access to a number of different servers to hack but you can only hack each once every 24 hours. However, there’s a Hack Supercomputer that you’re given to at level 10 that can only be done once per week.

Your sim can also hack work performance to give your sim a boost in their job and get a promotion a bit quicker. This is a great option if you’ve completed the promotion requirements but it’s taking a while to actually get the promotion which happens when you get toward the higher levels of a career.

Making Plugins

One of the earliest abilities your sim will be given with the programming skill is making plugins, thankfully you’ll gain the programming skill while making the plugins which will give you a bit of cash (bonus!). You won’t be making a ton of money just from making plugins but it can be a nice side income for your sim family.

Making Apps

Making a mobile app in the sims 4 takes about 24 sims hours so it’s not something that will be done quickly, and it takes a bit of commitment. However, you can do them in shorter spurts instead of doing it all at once and it will save your progress. You just need to click “continue making mobile app” when you click on the computer.

A mobile app will give you royalties every single day at 10 am which is always a really nice way to make money. However, all royalties eventually dwindle down to single digits and eventually disappear completely.

Making Video Games

Making a video game in the sims 4 is the largest time investment of the programming skill and will take you about 36 sim’s hours. Just like making a mobile app, you can always continue making the app after you’ve taken a little break as sims need sleep and food of course. You just need to click “continue video game” when you click on programming on the computer.

Your video games will give you royalties every single day at 10 am but they will shrink after just a few days, however, committing your sim to making video games and apps can be an amazing way to make a great income without ever having to go to work.

Making Viruses

Making viruses is one of the not so nice things you can do with your programming skill and can make you an awesome amount of money. I have noticed that sims aren’t really bothered by the fact that they’re making viruses, so it is totally fine.

Freelance Programming

Through the traditional Sims 4 programming skill you were given the option to do some freelance programming work on the computer that would take a decent amount of time and you won’t make a lot of money through this.

However, in a game patch in early 2019 they introduced the Freelance Career where you can be a freelance writer, a freelance artist, or a freelance programmer!

To become a freelance programmer, you choose a career like you would any other and click on Freelancer. Then you’ll be given the option to choose a branch of freelancing and you’ll choose Computer Experts for freelance programming.

You can then use your phone or the career panel in the right hand corner of the screen to pick a freelancing gig for your sim to complete. As you increase your freelancing skill you’ll be able to get different gigs unlocked that will make you more and more money.

You’ll be given a certain amount of time to complete the gig but there is definitely enough sim time to complete it, and you could probably finish more than one gig in a single day. You’ll be given a list of things to complete and you’ll be paid a good fee for finishing.

Being a freelance programmer is a really amazing way to make more money with your skill from home and be able to have total control over your sim’s days!

Final Thoughts

The programming skill is a great option for your sims if you want to make money from home and spend a lot of time on your computer. It’s great for geek sims, and loner sims, and work from home parents as well! Are you a fan of the programming skill? Have you completed the computer whiz aspiration? Let me know in the comments!