inZOI: the 2026 work and money guide — careers, job interviews, freelancing, and retirement

Landing a job in inZOI is no longer just a matter of clicking a listing and watching your Zoi vanish for eight hours a day. Since the v0.8.0 update on April 29, 2026, Krafton has overhauled the work system from top to bottom: a job interview you actually have to pass, wages paid out daily, paid leave, remote work, team projects, getting fired for slacking off, and even a proper retirement with a pension. Yet most French-language guides on money and jobs date back to the early access launch in March 2025 — none of them mention any of this.

This guide offers a full rundown of work and income as of August 7, 2026, under version v0.9.6 (hotfix from July 30). On the menu: applying and acing your interview, choosing between an active career and an off-screen one, combining a job with a business, living off freelance work, and planning for old age — all measured in Miaous, the game's currency.

School, career, business: three hats you can wear at once

Since v0.8.0, school, career, and business are three independent categories. A single Zoi can juggle all three, on one condition: their schedules must not overlap. If there's a scheduling conflict, the game applies a fixed priority — school first, then career, then business. The Zoi Card now displays a character's four professional statuses: school, career, business, and freelance.

In practice, a young adult can take classes, run a hair salon, and take on freelance gigs in the evening. Before stacking up activities, check each one's schedule: a poorly planned combination will wreck your Zoi's sleep and mood, and with it, their performance across the board.

Landing a job: the Career app and the job interview

Job listings can be checked on the Zoi's smartphone, in the Career app, Recruitment tab. There you'll find full-time and part-time positions available in the city of residence, along with the remaining slots for each employer. The three cities — Dowon, Bliss Bay and Cahaya — share several dozen companies, from law firms to development studios, as well as the amusement park or the fire station.

Version 0.8.0 added six specialized careers: research specialist, IT developer, construction expert (the architect, according to the official patch notes wording), music producer and journalist in Dowon and Bliss Bay, plus travel agent in Cahaya. For these, hiring is no longer automatic: the Zoi submits an application, lands an interview, and has to make a good impression on the interviewer. Put all the odds in your favor before the appointment: level up the skill tied to the position and Charisma, and show up in a good emotional state.

One last logistical detail: Zois leave home about an hour before the shift starts to cover the commute, and most positions take up three to five days a week. Make sure the schedule stays compatible with the rest of the household's life.

Active or off-screen career: two ways to earn your day

Not all careers play out the same way. In an active career, you follow your Zoi to their workplace and go through a list of tasks during the shift: interactions with coworkers, workshop tasks, numerical goals. It's the fastest path to promotion, since every completed task directly feeds into the evaluation — a few days are often enough to climb a rank.

In an off-screen career, the Zoi goes to work and becomes unplayable for the duration of the shift. You influence them remotely by choosing their tasks and responding to random events that come up. Here, it all boils down to two rules: show up on time and stay until the end. Progression is slower, expect a week or more per rank.

Since v0.8.0, team projects set the pace at the start of each cycle: from day 1 to day 4, your Zoi collaborates with colleagues, and their contribution — tracked via the dedicated phone app and the mission interface — determines their ranking and rewards at the end of the project. Watch out for the flip side: any lateness or absence hurts the evaluation, and a consistently unproductive Zoi can be fired. The employer can also impose unexpected overtime... or grant a collective day off.

Daily wages, paid leave, and remote work

A major change with the overhaul: wages are now paid daily, rather than through a weekly transfer. That's valuable early in the game, when every bill counts. As for the amounts, the range is wide: according to figures from the specialized site Sims Community, a junior developer earns around 414 Meows per day, while a law firm associate makes over 2,000, and some day-to-day odd jobs already bring in more than 500 Meows.

From a computer, an employed Zoi can request paid leave, sick leave, or a remote work day. The number of available days depends on the position held. Use these tools wisely: a well-timed leave lets you recharge need meters without sacrificing the evaluation, and remote work saves the two daily hours otherwise spent commuting.

Freelancing: four ways to earn without a boss

Freelancing, also introduced in v0.8.0, starts in front of a computer: your Zoi takes a certification in the chosen field there. The rank of this certification then evolves along with the character's reputation and the number of successfully completed missions — the higher it climbs, the harder and better-paid the contracts on offer become. A dedicated smartphone app centralizes eligibility, available missions, and ongoing tasks.

• Delivery: pick up items entrusted by a client and hand them over to the designated recipient. No creative prerequisites, perfect for immediate extra income.
• Creative: produce text, music, programs, or media on demand. The Programming, Art, Instruments, or Media Production skills determine the quality of the output.
• Publishing: publish your own creations and earn commissions based on their performance.
• Online marketplace: sell your creations directly from the computer. Convenient, but the official notes are clear: prices there are noticeably lower than those for commissions and publications.

Freelancing can be combined with everything else, and it's above all the only active income source that remains accessible after retirement. A senior Zoi with a maxed-out creative skill can thus continue to live comfortably without clocking in anywhere.

Businesses: hair salon and clothing store

The business category lets you own and manage your own shop. Version 0.8.0 introduced the hair salon: simply place a Salon Chair on your property to offer new haircuts to the Zois in the neighborhood. Version 0.9.0, released on June 19, 2026, added the clothing store. Staff management was clarified along the way: vacant recruitment slots are now highlighted, and business presets distinguish essential items from merely recommended ones.

A business requires starting capital and presence, but it pairs well with an off-screen career: while the main Zoi is at the office, another household member keeps the shop running.

Retirement: pension, severance, and legacy

After completing the required length of service with an employer, a Zoi can declare retirement. The game then organizes a farewell ceremony, after which the retiree regularly receives pension funds. Zois who are fired or who resign don't leave empty-handed either: everyone receives severance pay. For a dynasty played across several generations, a well-prepared retirement — a long career, a pension, plus a bit of creative freelancing on the side — turns elders into the household's financial safety net.

What about the path of crime?

It exists, and version 0.8.0 made it clearer: certain criminal interactions are visible before they can be used, giving players time to reach the required skill level. At skill level 5 in crime, your Zoi can obtain a Criminal Mask from the shady career placement office. Masked, the game changes: witnesses to a crime tend to flee instead of calling the police. The earnings are real, but the Zoi's Karma will remember.

What strategy should you adopt as of August 7, 2026?

• New household: a part-time job for the daily paycheck, plus the Delivery freelance certification to round out your earnings at the end of the day.
• Ambitious Zoi: an active career with interviews (IT developer, music producer...), Charisma and the key skill built up beforehand, leading to quick promotions.
• Established household: combine an off-screen career with a business — hair salon or clothing store — by splitting roles among household members.
• Winding down an active life: aim for the full length of service to secure a pension, and keep a high creative skill for retirement freelancing.

One last thing to keep in mind before you dive in: the next major update is set for the end of August 2026, focused on a more coherent simulation, the Create a Zoi mode, and voice customization. There's no indication of another overhaul of the work system: everything you build today — job tiers, certifications, businesses, and pension rights — will remain yours.