Best occupations in Project Zomboid

Your occupation sets your starting point budget, gives skill levels, and may add a free trait or a batch of known recipes. A positive number adds points you can spend on traits. A negative number is a debt you pay off with negative traits. Every character starts with Fitness and Strength at 5, so a listing such as Strength +1 means you begin at 6.

Build 42 changed a lot here. The roster grew to 25 entries with jobs such as Rancher, Tailor, Blacksmith, Welder and Fishing Guide, Unemployed became Custom Occupation, and the 42.16 balance pass lowered the cost of several jobs. Later patches moved Doctor, Nurse and Rancher to 0 and Electrician to -2. Guides written for Build 41 will have different costs. Recipes matter more than before too, because many Build 42 crafts can only be made by someone who knows the recipe. For trait costs and combos, see traits and occupations and character builds.

The figures below come from Build 42.19 to 42.22 data on two fan databases, and a third one agrees on all the point costs. Skill numbers are starting levels. Recipe counts are what those sites list. They disagree on Welder (36 or 85) and Blacksmith (81 or 86), so read those two counts as rough.

Opinion This ranking is our view for a standard solo apocalypse run. We weighed three things: survival value in the first two weeks, how hard the skills are to level yourself, and what the points could buy instead. Sandbox settings and play style can move a job up or down a tier.

Opinion Lumberjack's Ax-pert trait plus Axe 2 makes axes, the most common strong melee weapon, very good from day one at no cost. Firefighter swaps the trait for better Fitness and Strength, which helps with endurance and carry weight. Carpenter costs only 2 points, and Carpentry 4 lets you barricade and build walls right away. Burger Flipper is underrated: Keen Cook plus 2 spare points is a lot for a cheap job.

Opinion These picks assume you also choose sensible traits. The character builds page has full trait lists for each one.

• Beginner: Lumberjack costs nothing, makes the first fights forgiving, and leaves your trait points free. Read the beginner's guide next.
• Combat: axe skill plus Ax-pert is the cleanest melee start. Police Officer is the only good gun start, but ammo and noise limit it. See combat and firearms.
• Builder: Carpenter gets you to sturdy walls faster than anything else. Pair it with the carpentry guide.
• Farmer or rancher: Farmer's 63 recipes cover crops and food preserving. Rancher's Animal Care 4 and Butchering 3 suit a livestock base. See farming and animals.

Opinion In a group, each player can cover a specialty instead of everyone picking melee. A balanced crew of four to six might look like this:

• Front line: Lumberjack or Firefighter clears zombies and chops wood.
• Medic: Doctor starts at First Aid 6, enough to deal with serious wounds early. See first aid.
• Builder: Carpenter or Construction Worker fortifies the base.
• Food: Farmer, with a Chef or Rancher if the group is large.
• Power and vehicles: Electrician runs generators, and Mechanic keeps the cars working.
• Metal: Welder or Blacksmith only pays off in a long-running group that will build forges. See blacksmithing.
• Clothing: Tailor repairs and upgrades armor for everyone and gives the player 2 points to spend.

The co-op guide covers how to split roles and share loot.

Opinion These jobs look strong on the selection screen but cost more than they give, at least for most solo players.

• Veteran (-8): the highest cost in the game for Aiming 2 and Reloading 2. One fan database (one source) says Desensitized in Build 42 reduces panic but does not remove it, so older advice may overstate it. Guns also draw crowds.
• Fitness Instructor (-6): extra Fitness and Running help, but those skills rise through normal play, and 6 points of negative traits is a steep price.
• Engineer (-4): three level-1 skills plus explosives recipes. That is little value for 4 points.
• Burglar (-6) for solo play: hotwiring is handy, but you can learn it through skills too. See hotwiring. Pick Burglar for a stealth run, not as a general start.

Most of a job's starting levels can be earned in the first weeks anyway. The skill leveling guide covers the fastest methods.