
The jobs available from the newspaper do not change until the next day's paper arrives.
The jobs available on the computer change every day at midnight. A Sim with an appropriate degree who has skills and friends enough to be promoted to the top may use the computer to get a job as high as level 9. This is the only way for an adult to get a job at higher than level 1 (level 2, usually) from the newspaper. A Sim with a university degree will start even higher on his career track if his career is one of the preferred ones for his major. A Sim getting a job from the computer will start at a level that depends on their skills, their number of friends, and whether or not they have a university degree.
A teen who is in private school will start at level 2, even when getting a job from the newspaper. Once any of these occur, that Sim will be unable to obtain another full-time job. Sims who age into elder may keep their full-time job and continue to advance the career track until they leave their job, are fired, or retire. The part-time jobs available are the same for teens and elders. Part-time jobs are available to retired elders or elders who were unemployed when they became elders (or Sims that were created as elders). Full-time jobs are never available to teens. Teens and elders can work part-time in The Sims 2.
In The Sims, the job-seeking Sim must be in a good mood in order to be able to look for a job. (In The Sims, Sims will start at level one whether they get their jobs from the computer or from the newspaper.) A Sim getting a job from the computer (the different types of computers work identically) can start higher. A Sim getting a job from the newspaper starts low in the career track, usually at level one (exceptions exist see below).
Sims can also get a part-time job or start in a career track by going to its Community building. There are no skill requirements to enter a particular career although doing well in school or university may allow the Sim to start at higher level jobs. A Sim may get a job by reading a newspaper, using a computer, or just going directly to the job location.