Getting a Degree at University now helps the Romance Consultant Career.
I enrolled my Sim in Foxbury to earn a distinguished degree in psychology for the romance consultant career. The Sim later graduated with honors and a 4.0 GPA. When finding a job, there was the text for gaining a signing bonus and a higher starting level.
However, when my Sim started working, she started at Level 3 and her charisma and romance skill levels didn't count toward a promotion. She also did not get a signing bonus.
After the 1st July Patch, the career panel now says that a Psychology (but not a Communications) degree benefits the Romance Consultant career. Sims start at Level 3 with Psychology, but not Communications.
The two branches also don't show up separately in the career panel - you can only become a Romance Consultant, not a Matchmaker or Relationship Counselor, when you usually select the relevant branch to join a career with the benefits you get from a degree (that should be higher than starting at Level 3).
With a Psychology degree, Eliza should be able to start as a Matchmaker, just as she can start as a Professor:
what do you mean by her charisma & romance skill levels didn't count ? I tested this and did get a signing bonus. Does it actually work to get promoted faster and you got more vacation days ?
The game was updated to include a university degree for the Romance Consultant career but I don't think it works as intended. Even with the highest possible degree it only bumps you up to Level 3. This is less than if you were to give your Sim the Connections reward trait which you can purchase with points. This makes no sense considering the amount of time and effort you put into obtaining the degree.
(Note: I did test this in a new save and without mods, but I cheated the degree. Not sure if that's important but I figured I'd mention it. The other boosts with the cheated degree work fine though.)
Degrees normally give you a boost to career level 6-8 depending on the type of degree you earn. Beyond that, there are normally two different degrees that affect a single career. For example...
Gardener Career (Seasons)
Biology degree boosts you to the Botanist branch
Fine Art degree boost you to the Floral Designer branch
My belief is that Romance Consultant should be treated the same as the other careers that have two branches where the degree you choose affects the branch you get promoted to. At the very least, the Psychology degree should boost you to the Relationship Counselor branch.
Based on how the degrees seem to affect the careers with higher level branch selection such as Astronaut and Secret Agent, it should maybe look like...
I'm just not sure what degree would go with Matchmaker. Perhaps Communications or even Drama.
OR
Instead of a degree for Matchmaker, a certificate could be earned by attending a certain amount of skill classes. This is how the Culinary career gets a boost for Mixologist. Instead of a degree, you gain a "Mixologist Certificate" after sitting in on 11 classes at one of the University buildings. I think this route would also make sense for Matchmaker.
The last thing I'll add is that the Romance skill should have an elective class added like how Pottery got one when Businesses & Hobbies released. I didn't see one when I looked through them during enrollment.
