I have to admit, I really lost patience with the Firefighter career track long before my Sim got to level 10.  One problem with the way that jobs work in Sims 3 is that you can't get promoted until you go to work.  And the higher you climb the career ladder, the fewer days you work, and thus the longer it takes before you can get back in to get promoted.  

In The Sims 2, once you had all the boxes ticked so to speak, then boom: promoted.  This is how so many of us got all those great career rewards!  You max out all of your Sim's skills, make a bunch of friends, then start a new job.  Almost immediately, your Sim is promoted to level 6 or whatever, and you get the reward.  Quit that job, start another one, lather rinse repeat.

Not so with The Sims 3!

Frankly, I don't know what the hold-up is.  My Sim has maxed out his Athletic and Handiness skills, and made friends with all of his coworkers.  All of his job stats are bright green smiley faces.  But time still has to pass before he gets promoted.  Drives me insane!

I also ended up getting a lot of really boring emergencies.  Other players report exciting emergencies at the various rabbit holes around town.  You know what my Sim got?  An air conditioner emergency at City Hall.  He had to wrap someone in a jacket.  I'm serious!

I should probably be grateful that he had two events other than "small house fire."  We had an earthquake, which was pretty exciting.  It also taught me to make sure my Sim's needs are always in the green whenever he's on duty.  

The earthquake happened about an hour before the end of his shift, and I had figured he could wait until he got home to eat a decent meal.  Then the earth started shaking, and he had to rush all over town clearing rubble and fixing gas leaks.  By the time he was done, it was the middle of the night, and he was half starved to death!  Luckily I had tucked some apples into his inventory, so he was able to nosh here and there in between his various rescues.

The other Class 2 emergency was an Angry Gnome Invasion.  He showed up at the invaded house only to find several angry gnomes around the property.  An angry gnome spouts steam from its ears, and emits little angry curse symbols.  It's all very Looney Tunes.

Once you make it to the top of the career ladder, it's not all bad.  For one thing, your Sim is earning a whopping $2,480 a week!  You also get a new outfit, which includes some pretty awesome mirrored sunglasses.  

Best of all, you get a fire alarm placed into your inventory, and your very own fire truck.  Simply place the alarm on your property and it will ring when there's an emergency.  This means that you can work from home, upgrading and repairing your equipment at your leisure.