What is a career simulator?
A career simulator lets you try a new career before you commit to it. Instead of reading about a job, you play through what the change would actually feel like: the training, the money, the stress, and the decisions along the way.
This free career simulation covers your first 12 months in a new career, month by month. It uses real data for each career, including typical training time, pay and AI risk, so the results change depending on the career you choose and the situation you're in.
How the career simulation works
- Pick a career to try from more than 160 careers, such as registered nurse, electrician, data analyst or real estate agent.
- Set your starting point: how many months you could live on your savings, and whether it's just you, you have a partner, or you have kids.
- Month 1, choose how to start: retrain full-time, train part-time while you keep your job, or test the water for three months first.
- Month 6, make your first big decision: push harder, get real experience in the field, or ease off to protect your money and family.
- Month 9, deal with a surprise: burnout, a family emergency, layoffs at your current job, or AI shaking up your new field. How you respond changes what happens next.
- Month 12, see your year one results: how much training you've done, how many months of savings you have left, and how you're feeling.
Each month adds a new event to your timeline, and three meters track your savings, training progress and wellbeing as you go. It takes about three minutes, and there's no sign-up.
What the simulator teaches you
Most people underestimate the hard parts of changing careers. The simulation makes them visible before they cost you anything:
- Money runs out faster than you think. Full-time study with only a few months of savings is risky, especially with a family to support.
- Part-time is slower, but safer. Keeping your income buys time, but the long days take a toll on your wellbeing.
- Earn-while-you-learn paths are different. Apprenticeships and on-the-job training, common in skilled trades, keep money coming in while you train.
- Surprises happen. Family, health and the economy rarely wait for a convenient moment. Having a buffer changes your options.
- AI risk matters. Careers with higher AI exposure are more likely to see entry-level jobs change while you're still training.
Try it with different careers and choices
The best way to use the simulator is to play more than once. Try the same career with full-time and part-time training, or compare two careers you're considering. You'll quickly see which paths fit your savings, your family and your energy, and which ones would stretch you too thin.
Not sure which career to try first? Find careers your skills carry over to with the Career Pivot Finder, or, if you're in your 40s or 50s, use Career Change at 40.
Play years 2 to 5 in Path Simulator
The free career simulator covers your first year. Path Simulator, part of the brigenai app, continues your story for the full five years. You keep your year one choices, make a key decision every six months, face more surprises, and see your five-year outcome: your salary, your savings and your wellbeing. It's free with an account.
Career simulator FAQ
Is this career simulator free?
Yes. The first year is free with no sign-up. Years 2 to 5 are free too, with a brigenai account.
How realistic is the simulation?
It's a simplified model for exploring a decision, not a prediction. It uses typical training time, pay and AI risk for each career, and assumed living costs. Real life will be different, but the trade-offs it shows, between speed, money and wellbeing, are real.
What careers can I simulate?
More than 160 careers across healthcare, skilled trades, technology, business, education, creative work, hospitality and more. Each one uses its own training time, pay and AI risk.
Is this the same as a job simulator game?
No. Job simulator games are for fun. This career simulation is built to help you make a real decision about changing careers, using real data about each job.
Can I try more than one career?
Yes. When you finish your first year, choose "Try a different career" and play again. Comparing two or three careers is one of the best ways to use it.
Do I need to quit my job to use this?
Not at all. The whole point is to try a career change safely, before you make any real decisions. Many people use it to decide whether to retrain full-time or part-time.
Related free tools
- Career Pivot Finder: see which careers your current skills carry over to, with AI risk and pay for each.
- Career Change at 40: find realistic careers that use your experience, fit your retraining time and are safer from AI.
- Stay vs Quit Job Quiz: not sure it's time to leave? Get a clear stay-or-quit answer.
- Career Personality Test: find careers that match your interests.
- AI Job Risk Checker: check how much of any job AI could take over.
