Revision 4

Careers are a major gameplay system in Paralives' Live Mode that allow Parafolk to earn paradimes, the in-game currency, so they can pay bills, buy furniture, purchase clothing, and afford other expenses. Unlike many life-simulation games where promotions follow a rigid linear ladder, careers in Paralives are intentionally non-linear. A Nurse does not get promoted into a Doctor; instead, the Nurse improves their own qualifications and salary within the nursing role, or applies for a completely different job if they want a career change.

Each job has a daily salary, a rank, a work schedule, and a designated workplace. A Parafolk can hold multiple jobs simultaneously as long as the schedules do not conflict. Teen Parafolk can hold a job alongside school in a compatible-schedule role; see School. On Day 1 of the May 25, 2026 Early Access launch, every confirmed career is delivered as a rabbit-hole shift: the Parafolk walks or buses to the workplace, the shift runs offscreen, and the end-of-day upgrade choice surfaces via the Expertise System.

Career Domains

Jobs in Paralives are organized into 11 named career domains. Each domain represents a broad industry, and within each domain are multiple specific positions at various ranks and salary levels. The domain list below has been re-confirmed in the May 7, 2026 Early Access feature recap.

Some positions are explicitly cross-listed across multiple domains. Waiter, for example, can appear under both Food and Service, so prior Waiter experience contributes to applications in either domain. The cross-listing is per-job rather than per-domain; not every Service job offers Food cross-credit.

Named Workplaces

Named workplaces in the launch town anchor specific career domains. These venues function as both Live Mode lots and the destinations for rabbit-hole work shifts. See Town Venues for the full venue list.

Other named lots in town (Market Antiques, L'Armoire, Premium Gym, Chez Maurice) also host career positions in the matching domain. The launch build does not publish a complete enumeration of every job-by-workplace combination; the table above lists the confirmed major anchors from the May 7, 2026 feature recap.

Named Job Examples

Across the eleven domains, several named positions have been confirmed in dev showcases and the EA feature recap. These are illustrative, not exhaustive.

Finding Jobs

Parafolk discover job opportunities through two main channels. Online listings can be browsed on a phone, with each listing showing the rank, daily salary, workplace, and required skills. Physical Hiring signs appear at commercial buildings around town; a Parafolk who walks past one can apply on the spot. Both channels feed into the same Application Points system.

Application Points and Hiring

Rather than requiring a single specific skill at a fixed level, the launch build uses an Application Points score for hiring. When applying for a job, the game tallies the Parafolk's relevant skills, prior work experience in the same domain, and any unlocked expertise from prior Expertise Upgrades. If the total meets the job's threshold, the application is automatically approved.

This system rewards both specialist and generalist play. A Parafolk who is moderately skilled across several relevant skills can qualify for the same job as one who is highly skilled in a single area. Prior career experience also helps: a Nurse who later applies to a Doctor position uses Healthcare-domain expertise built up from past Nurse shifts.

Daily Upgrade Choice via the Expertise System

At the end of each successful shift, the Parafolk earns an upgrade prompt. The launch build offers three semi-random branches: Rank Upgrade (increases salary), Expertise Upgrade (unlocks portable expertise that helps future applications), and Extra Upgrade (grants a non-monetary perk such as faster skill gain or better workplace mood). The full mechanic, including cross-domain expertise transfer, lives in the Expertise System article.

Multi-Job Mechanic

A Parafolk can hold more than one job at the same time, provided the work schedules do not overlap. Each job tracks its own salary, rank, and expertise pool independently. Households can stack income by routing two adults through two compatible jobs, or by having a single Parafolk hold a primary day job and a compatible-schedule second role. Teen Parafolk can hold a job alongside School under the same rule; see the school article for details on the schedule overlap check.

Performance and Mood

Performance during a shift determines whether the daily upgrade choice fires at all. The launch build considers Vibes, Emotions, relationships with coworkers and managers, and skill progress during the workday. A Parafolk who shows up well-rested, well-fed, and emotionally stable produces better outcomes than one who arrives stressed or hungry. Consistently poor performance stalls progression entirely until the situation improves.

Workplaces and the Rabbit-Hole Carveout

All workplaces in the launch build function as rabbit holes. When a Parafolk goes to work, they travel to the designated workplace; the shift then runs offscreen. The player does not directly control the Parafolk's activities during work hours. Active follow-to-work gameplay is one of the most-requested post-launch additions and is tracked in Roadmap and Planned Features.

Real lots in the open world correspond to specific job postings. A Parafolk hired at the Museum walks or buses to the Museum lot, enters the rabbit-hole shift, and emerges at the end of the day. Commute time is tracked: late arrivals can reduce performance for the day.

Overtime and Special Cases

Parafolk who have built enough experience in a role may unlock the option to work overtime. Overtime extends the workday beyond the standard schedule, paying additional paradimes at the cost of stretching the needs ladder thinner. Overtime is opt-in per shift; the Parafolk does not enter it automatically.

Some careers also feature special workplaces or workplace events. Performances, special projects, and named in-world events can trigger one-off bonuses or unique interactions tied to the job. The launch build's exact list of these special cases has not been fully published; expect dev showcases over the Early Access window to surface them as they ship.

Career Pay Examples

Confirmed pay examples come from the dev showcases and the EA feature recap. The numbers below are reference points, not the full career ladder.

Career Tie-Ins

Careers connect to several other launch systems:

• Skill gains during shifts feed back into Skills and Knowledge progression

• Daily salary credits to the household balance in Economy and Bills

• School attendance for child and teen lifestages is treated as the under-age equivalent of a career; see School

• Workplace relationships feed into the broader Relationships and Social System

• Many newspaper Goals hooks tie back to career-domain progression, especially for Service and Art roles

Modding Careers

Careers are fully moddable through the official Modding and Steam Workshop toolkit. Modders can add new domains, define new positions, adjust the Application Points thresholds, change the Expertise Upgrade pool, and tune salary scales. New careers added by mods plug into the same hiring, performance, and upgrade systems as the base build's careers.

Day 1 Status

Careers are confirmed Day 1. The 11 domains, the named workplaces, the Application Points hiring system, the daily upgrade choice, the multi-job mechanic, and the rabbit-hole shift carveout are all part of the launch build. Active workplace gameplay, more elaborate workplace events, additional career domains, and work-from-home variants are post-launch additions tracked in the Roadmap and Planned Features plan.