Awhile back, The Sims Team accepted questions on their Facebook page about The Sims 3 Ambitions, and those lucky enough to be picked will have their questions answered by Grant Rodiek.  Well, the answers are now in…and well, as you guessed it for the most part it’s nothing interesting 🙁

How do you become a Tattoo Artist?
GR:There are two ways – you can go to the salon venue located in town and take advantage of the tattoo chair located downstairs. Just offer Sims tattoos and you’ll earn a little bit of money for each tattoo. Or, you can purchase the tattoo chair and put it at your Sim’s home lot. You can then call over friends and offer them tattoos. You could even throw a party to get several Sims over at once.

Being a tattoo isn’t a full career like Architectural Designer for example. It’s a way to be creative and make a few Simoleons on the side.

What’s the best way to manage time, family, and relationships while pursuing a career in The Sims 3 Ambitions?
GR: You should pick the right careers. For example, if you have obligations throughout the day and cannot handle a job that requires your attention during the day, be a Private Investigator. They are able to work whenever they want.

Stylists and Architectural Designs have jobs during the day, but you don’t always need to do them (like with the Firefighter or Ghost Hunter). So, they aren’t as flexible as Private Investigator, but you can leave the job when necessary. Also, the rest of the game is paused while doing the actual job, which means it’s not as frantic.

It’s typically a good idea, especially if you’re a new player, to start with only one of the new professions at a time in the family. I was able to eventually play with a Private Investigator, Inventor, Architectural Designer, and Firefighter all at the same time. But definitely not at first!

The new professions make building relationships quite easy in my opinion. All of them push you to meet new Sims, whether at their houses during a design job, in the park for a case you’re solving, or at the fire station between emergencies.

How do you create monsters?
GR: There are two ways to create Simbot – you can purchase one using Lifetime Happiness points, or you can craft one as an Inventor. To craft one as an inventor you must accept a special opportunity. It is an Inventing Skill Opportunity that is very likely to occur when you reach Level 10 of Inventing. The Opportunity is quite long and challenging, but ultimately rewarding as you get a Simbot!

You can also create a Mummy, though this requires World Adventures. You need to gather canopic jars from the tombs and place them in a sarcophagus…

How do you apply for all the professions in Ambitions?

GR: Various professions will be available via the newspaper or computer every day. This is just like careers from The Sims 3. You can also get the jobs at certain venues and rabbit holes:
* Firefighter = Fire Station Venue (click on the Map Tag)
* Stylist = Salon Venue (click on the Map Tag)
* Ghost Hunter = Science Facility
* Architectural Designer = City Hall
* Private Investigator = Police Station
* Doctor = Hospital

How do I become self-employed?
GR: To register as self-employed you need to have one of the following skills:
* Gardening
* Painting
* Fishing
* Writing
* Inventing (Ambitions required)
* Sculpting (Ambitions required)
* Photography (World Adventures required)
* Nectar Making (World Adventures required)

Once you have one of these skills, visit City Hall and use the “Register as Self-Employed” interaction.

In the Architech/Designer job, how do you get better reviews and top ratings? How do Sims rate jobs?
GR: This can be quite challenging! At higher levels in the Architectural Designer career you unlock an interaction called “Take Measurements”. If you use this by clicking on a client’s lot before you turn in your job, this will boost your score.

You can also take advantage of your Sim’s client’s traits. The “Discuss Renovation” social that’s available on your client will help you learn traits REALLY quickly. During a renovation, the traits that you know that may help your score will show up on the renovation panel in the top left hand corner of the screen. Use these to improve your score. For example, if your client is a Bookworm, place bookshelves. If your client is a virtuoso, place a guitar or stereo. Things like that!

You aren’t limited to the requirements of the job. Spend the budget (or even spend more than the budget!) to really make the house nice. You can do only the requirements and be successful, but if you really make the client’s home nice they will appreciate it.

Clients also give you a boost if you use “homemade” objects. If you have your Sim make sculptures, paintings, or photographs using the associated skills and place these in your clients homes during a job, you’ll earn a hefty boost.

Finally, being high in the Architectural Designer career and having a high painting skill will help you earn good reviews.

Be careful to not clutter items, place broken or dirty items, or leave walls and floors without proper covering!

How do you create portfolios for Architect and Stylist careers? How/when to take pics for stylist career?
GR: When you earn a good score after completing an Architectural Designer job you are prompted to take a picture. If you choose to take it right then, your Sim will use their cell phone camera to take it. The photo will then be added to your Sim’s design portfolio, which is automatically added to the Sim’s inventory. You can then take the photos out and put them on your Sim’s personal studio if you want!

If you have World Adventures, your Sim can use a proper camera to take the picture. It’ll look much better!

The flow is the same for a Stylist – after you successfully style a Sim, it’ll prompt you to take a photo of them.

Is there a cheat to make meteor showers appear?
GR:There isn’t a cheat to make the meteor shower appear, though it IS more likely to happen if your Sim is using a telescope outside…

What is your favorite career in the game?
GR: I’m partial to the Architectural Designer career. I love Building homes, so getting to constantly shape the neighborhood is fun. I feel like the career is very dynamic and is never quite the same. I also laugh constantly playing the Private Investigator. I love blowing up stuff when suspects won’t give my Sim information (My Sim is also an inventor).

From SimGuruHydra over at The Sims 3 Official BBS