Teen empoloyees handled badly

[Gus Smedstad]

I just recently started playing some of the Sims who I've hired at my first store.  They have a "job" which is Monday-Friday, 9-5, and pays 7x the hourly wage.  Fine, that sounds reasonable... except that I hired a lot of teenagers.  They tend to have no jobs or crap jobs, so they make up the majority of the playable hiring pool.  I don't really like hiring townies very much for the usual reason: they're ugly.

The problem of course is that school conflicts directly with the job at the store.  I tried buying a car and sending the teen to work immediately after school, but he got fired after 3 days of being late.  IMHO teens who are employed in player-owned stores should have teen-job type hours, i.e. 3-6 Monday-Friday, not 9-5.

 - Gus

[Pegasys]

You have to make a choice with your teen - school track, or career track. Actually I like having this option. Haven't people complained earlier that teens couldn't have "real" jobs? Now they can, and can become high-school dropout tycoons.

The only disadvantage with teens is it appears they can't be assigned to certain jobs, such as DJ. Other than that, it's a nice option for those who don't want to send their kids through Uni.

[J. M. Pescado]

It's interesting to note that showing up LATE is penalized more harshly than not showing up at all, so prioritize whether you're going to show up or not. Don't bother showing up late.

[radiophonic]

Just hire them ugly townies. That's what they're there for, to push around and punish, to get paid crap wages and work until your employee "ball" is red and in the process, they'll pick up badges and make them more desirable for hire on any future businesses you open.

Let your playables be the tycoons.

[MyFireElf]

I noticed the same thing, Gus. I've got a teen sim who has never shown up for work when I'm playing him because I want him to keep his A+, and he's one day away from getting fired. I'm surprised Maxis didn't think to allow for the school/job conflict since it seems so obvious - they can't even work weekends to get their job ratings back up.

It really ought to be traditional after-school job hours, with maybe full time week-ends. I wonder if anyone's working on a hack for this.

[Motoki]

Is there really a penalty for not going to school other than the game complaining and nagging at you? The social worker doesn't come for teens and it's my understanding whether or not they run away is based on their relationships with their family.

[MyFireElf]

I think they can't get into college if they're failing high school... only D and above. Am I right?

[Motoki]

Oh is that all? I can't stand university anyhow. Too boring and takes too damned long. I either use the upgrade pre uni sim from the lot fixer or the counterfeit diploma from Christianlov. Makes me thing of those old Sally Struthers commericials "Do you want to make more money? Sure. We all do" 

[ZiggyDoodle]

Is there really a penalty for not going to school other than the game complaining and nagging at you?

Yes, unfortunately.  My Bisgrove teens were at school the last time I played that family before installing OFB.

When I went to that lot last night and played it for the first time since the EP, they were not at school.  I sent Claire Bisgrove to Uni right away but as I played the family, a notice popped up stating that because Dimitri had missed school, his grade had dropped to a B+.  That was followed by a pop up advising that his Sim City scholarship has been rescinded.

Not sure I'll even send him to Uni.  If I do, he will get his crafting badges in his spare time.

[idtaminger]

I think there should be an option for the teens to work part-time or full-time, so you could have your dropout tycoon and your avg teen w/ an after school job. That would've been a better implementation.

[Regina]

Well that stinks!  And here I was thinking how cool it would be for my neighborhood teens to be able to work in their aunt or uncle's businesses!

I really don't like Uni much, either, but I send the kids to fulfill lifetime wants and such.  Sometimes I make it all the way through their sophomore year before cheating them through the rest of it.   Honestly, if it wasn't for being able to gain the extra want slots and locks, the plastic surgery machine and the cow plant I'd uninstall Uni all together.

[Gus Smedstad]

Despite my experience, it may still be doable, if you alternate work and school.  You'll alternate going up and down a grade, and I'm hoping you'll keep your job.  It still stinks as fiction, because you've got a kid that's skipping school regularly, which only makes sense to me personally for slackers and rebels, which aren't common in my game.

 - Gus

[simmiecal]

It really ought to be traditional after-school job hours, with maybe full time week-ends. I wonder if anyone's working on a hack for this.

www.simlogical.com

Inge has an employee scheduler under the family business download section. I haven't tried it yet, but:

Requires Automatic Open Sign above.  The automatic arrive and leave times only operate when the Automatic Open Sign above is set to Auto, to avoid employees being called in on days the business is not open.

Use one of these for each employee.  You can assign this only when the employee is actually on the lot, but it stays assigned after they leave.  When you assign it, the employee's picture appears on the token.   Set arrive and leave times, or call in to work or dismiss any time manually.

[Gus Smedstad]

That doesn't sound like it addresses the problem.  Yes, it makes it so your employees have specific work hours when you're running the business, and that's good.  What it doesn't touch is the work hours when the employee is at home, which are currently always M-F, 9-5, regardless of your business or what hours you actually run.

 - Gus