The natural science career track is a career that focuses on the study of natural science, including biology and ecology. It is included in the University expansion pack for The Sims 2 and is exclusive to Sims that have graduated from university, meaning it does not include teen or elder career tracks. If The Sims 2: Apartment Life is installed, Bohemians are likely to be employed in this career.[TS2:AL]
The career reward for this track is the Cowplant, which is unloacked at level 6 (rogue botanist). The Cowplant can eat Sims, yielding a drink that extend a Sim's lifespan. The college majors associated with this career are biology and mathematics.[TS2:U]
Level 10 of the career, ecological guru, has the highest daily pay and highest pension out of all careers in the game. Some other top-level careers, however, provide higher weekly earnings because the ecological guru only works one day per week. Ecological guru also has one of the longest workdays in the game.
While an ecological guru is at work, all motives except hygiene increase incrementally. If the player cancels the "Go to Work" action, an ecological guru will not be able to go to work unless they own a car or The Sims 2: Apartment Life is installed.
In The Sims 2: Freetime, befriending the nature hobby instructor will reduce the career's family friend requirement by one.[TS2:FT]
 Natural Science Career Levels
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| 1) Ratkeeper | |||||
| Yes, you tend rats for a living. It's not the greatest job, but at least it gets you started with a career in the biological sciences. The bites don't go too deep and no redness or irritation has started, so chances are you might live to see a promotion if you work on your skills. |  0
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 0
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| S M T W T F S | Wage: §325/day | ||||
09:00 - 16:00
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Pension: §116/day | ||||
| Bonus: None | |||||
| 2) Algae Hunter | |||||
| Who knows what wondrous treasures lurk in our rivers and streams? The Algae Hunter, that's who! Your job is sample collection, your focus is algae. You don't perform any of the official tests yourself, but at least you have a job that lets you enjoy the great (slimy) outdoors. | 1
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1
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1
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0
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0
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| S M T W T F S | Wage: §483/day | ||||
08:00 - 15:00
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Pension: §172/day | ||||
| Bonus: §966 | |||||
| 3) Clam Wrangler | |||||
| Let's face it: Clams are slippery little bivalves. Sometimes keeping their natural habitats in check requires a little wrangling, and that's where you come in. Long regarded as a jumping ground for the more prestigious careers in Natural Science, Clam Wrangling requires a strong body and quick reflexes. Work those skills and prestige may not be far off. | 2
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1
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3
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0
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0
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| S M T W T F S | Wage: §672/day | ||||
| 09:00 - 16:00
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Pension: §240/day | ||||
| Bonus: §1,344 | |||||
| 4) Scatmaster | |||||
| You are a Scatmaster—a freelance specialist in animal droppings. Your work comes in many forms - from tracking animals to determining their dietary habits. You're one of the best at what you do. Because, lets face it—this is a pretty niche field. | 3
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3
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4
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0
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1
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| S M T W T F S | Wage: §787/day | ||||
11:00 - 18:00
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Pension: §281/day | ||||
| Bonus: §1,574 | |||||
| 5) Soil Identifier | |||||
| As a freelance Soil Identifier, you will be at the beck and call of construction teams, farmers, and city officials. Is it a Mesic sandy clay loam, or a Xeric loamy clay sand? To everybody else, it's just dirt. To you, it's SCIENCE! | 4
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5
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5
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1
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2
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| S M T W T F S | Wage: §945/day | ||||
| 09:00 - 16:00
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Pension: §337/day | ||||
| Bonus: §1,890 | |||||
| 6) Rogue Botanist | |||||
| No more freelancing for you! You've found yourself a University sponsor, allowing you to do some real research of your own. The organization has deemed you their "Rogue Botanist", a suspicious yet handsomely paying title. | 6
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6
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5
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3
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4
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| S M T W T F S | Wage: §1,134/day | ||||
10:00 - 17:00
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Pension: §405/day | ||||
| Bonus: §2,268 | |||||
| 7) Animal Linguist | |||||
| More than just sitting and talking with a parrot all day, the position of Animal Linguist is a prestigious and important job. You are tasked with finding semantic patterns in the sounds of all kinds of critters, with the hopes of someday creating a universal language to unite all fauna! | 6
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6
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5
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6
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6
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| S M T W T F S | Wage: §1,344/day | ||||
| 10:00 - 17:00
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Pension: §480/day | ||||
| Bonus: §2,688 | |||||
| 8) Unnatural Crossbreeder | |||||
| An opening at a suspicious, privately owned offshore laboratory? Sounds good to you! The pay is great, the ethics are lax, and you've got access to pretty much any equipment you could possibly want. Just watch out for the Possumfish. It bites. | 7
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7
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5
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8
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8
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| S M T W T F S | Wage: §1,554/day | ||||
| 09:00 - 16:00
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Pension: §555/day | ||||
| Bonus: §3,108 | |||||
| 9) Dinosaur Cloner | |||||
| I mean, come on—everybody knows how to make dinosaurs. Find a DNA sample, splice and create a cloning vector, integrate the DNA into bacterial cells to accelerate growth . . . You know, easy stuff. But the real fact of the matter is that nobody has had the guts or a large enough financial endowment before. You've got both. | 9
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8
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6
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10
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10
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| S M T W T F S | Wage: §2,283/day | ||||
| 11:00 - 18:00
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Pension: §652/day | ||||
| Bonus: §4,566 | |||||
| 10) Ecological Guru | |||||
| Your breath is the wind, your body the earth. Your voice is the call of the wild. You are . . . the Ecological Guru. You tell people to change their environmental practices—and they listen. March yourself out on the world and make a difference—you're a veritable force of nature. | 10
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8
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8
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10
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12
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| S M T W T F S | Wage: §10,497/day | ||||
12:00 - 09:00
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Pension: §749/day | ||||
| Bonus: §20,994 | |||||
| Natural Science Chance Cards
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| 1) Ratkeeper | ||
| <Sim name> has been left in charge of Mrs. Nippers, the laboratory's award winning and very intelligent rodent. Since Mrs. Nippers is highly intelligent and mischievous but is fighting an intense cheese addiction, <Sim name> has express instructions to stop any crafty prank she might pull. Suddenly, a delivery person appears at the door with an order of four extra cheese pizzas, charged to <Sim name>'s supervisor account. Should <Sim name> let Mrs. Nippers eat the pizzas and pay for them <himself/herself>, or call a supervisor, upsetting Mrs. Nippers, but saving <himself/herself> money? | Let Her Eat | |
Success:  +1
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85% chance | |
Failure:  Get Fired
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14% chance | |
| Call and Wait | ||
| Success: +1
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14% chance | |
| Failure: Get Fired
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85% chance | |
| 2) Algae Hunter | ||
| No chance cards for this level. | ||
| 3) Clam Wrangler | ||
| No chance cards for this level. | ||
| 4) Scatmaster | ||
| No chance cards for this level. | ||
| 5) Soil Identifier | ||
| As the resident soil expert, <Sim name>'s been called out to a construction site by the SimCity Mesozoic Reenactment Society to resolve a dispute over the historical significance of the soon to be demolished LandGrabb Tar Pits. Construction is set to begin today, and based on the soil samples <he/she>'s examined so far there appears to be no trace of prehistoric significance. Does <he/she> delay the construction to do some further tests, or allow construction to proceed unhindered? | Allow to Proceed | |
Success:  +§15,000
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15% chance | |
| Failure: Get Fired
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84% chance | |
| Test Further | ||
| Success: +2
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84% chance | |
| Failure: Get Fired
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15% chance | |
| 6) Rogue Botanist | ||
| <Sim name>, still unclear as to why the University chose to give <him/her> the title of "rogue" botanist, has decided to play the part and venture deep into the uncharted deserts of Strangetown (against the advice of <his/her> superiors). While there <he/she> discovers a crash site still smoldering with the wreckage of what <he/she> can only assume is an alien spacecraft. All around the craft, small iridescent plants have begun to sprout up. Should <Sim name> harvest some for examination, or call in a research team? | Harvest | |
| Success: +§15,000
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15% chance | |
| Failure: -2
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84% chance | |
| Call for Help | ||
Success:  Promoted to Ecological Guru
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84% chance | |
| Failure: No Penalty | 15% chance | |
| 7) Animal Linguist | ||
| <Sim name> believes <he/she>'s finally made a distinction between parroted speak, and the actual linguistic capabilities of the Red-Beaked Macaw. <His/Her> research is certainly not airtight, but considering that <he/she>'s heard some of <his/her> colleagues are close to a similar breakthrough, <he/she> needs to decide whether to publish <his/her> findings now, or risk waiting until <he/she> can prove <his/her> theories more definitively. | Wait | |
| Success: Promoted to Unnatural Crossbreeder
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85% chance | |
Failure:  Demoted to Rogue Botanist
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14% chance | |
| Publish | ||
| Success: Promoted to Unnatural Crossbreeder
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14% chance | |
| Failure: -2
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85% chance | |
| 8) Unnatural Crossbreeder | ||
| No chance cards for this level. | ||
| 9) Dinosaur Cloner | ||
| Deep in the bowels of the University's most top secret bio-mechanical research institute, <Sim name> has unearthed a process through which the first total reconstruction of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, without the aid of cybernetics, may finally be possible. However, the process will require all the fossilized amber remaining in the lab's vault, or alternatively and more dangerously, a computer synthesized reanimation core. Should <Sim name> resurrect the Lizard King using the raw amber, earmarked for research, or the unstable synthesized material? | Use Amber | |
Success:  +§50,000
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85% chance | |
Failure:  -§25,000
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14% chance | |
| Synthesized Materials | ||
| Success: Promoted to Ecological Guru
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14% chance | |
| Failure: Demoted to Unnatural Crossbreeder
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85% chance | |
| 10) Ecological Guru | ||
| No chance cards for this level. | ||
Trivia
- Ecological gurus travel to work by flying rather than using the standard carpool.
- The ecological guru career outfit consists of very little clothing aside from a few strategically placed fig leaves.