Serial Productions
Comparing the Career Timelines of Trump, Vance, Harris and Walz
How the 2024 presidential and vice-presidential candidates’ professional records stack up.
Republican ticket
Democratic ticket
AGE
18
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
Donald J. Trump
Born 1946
Queens, N.Y.
Queens, N.Y.
1964
Fordham University student
1966
University of Pennsylvania student
Bachelor’s degree in economics, 1968
1968
Businessman
Worked for, took over and ran father’s real estate company
2004
Television personality
Hosted “The Apprentice”
2015
Presidential candidate
2017
President
2021
Businessman
Began Truth Social, a social media company
2022
Presidential candidate
JD Vance
Born 1984
Middletown, Ohio
Middletown, Ohio
2003
U.S. Marine Corps serviceman
Served in Operation Iraqi Freedom
2007
Ohio State University student
Bachelor’s degree in political science and philosophy, 2009
2010
Yale Law School student
Juris doctor degree, 2013
2013
Lawyer and venture capitalist
Published best-selling memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” in 2016
2021
Candidate for U.S. Senate
2022
U.S. senator
Representing Ohio
2024
Vice-presidential candidate
Kamala Harris
Born 1964
Oakland, Calif.
Oakland, Calif.
1982
Howard University student
Bachelor’s degree in political science and economics, 1986
1986
University of California Hastings College of Law student
(now University of California College of the Law, San Francisco)
Juris doctor degree, 1989
Juris doctor degree, 1989
1990
Deputy district attorney
Alameda County, Calif.
1998
Prosecutor
Career Criminal Unit of the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office; San Francisco City Attorney’s Division on Families and Children
2004
District attorney
San Francisco
2011
Attorney general
California
2017
U.S. senator
Representing California
2019
Candidate for Democratic presidential nomination
2020
U.S. senator
Representing California
2021
Vice president
2024
Presidential candidate
Tim Walz
Born 1964
West Point, Neb.
West Point, Neb.
1981
U.S. Army National Guard serviceman
Active through 2005
1982
Chadron State College student
Bachelor’s degree in social science education, 1989
1989
Educator
Taught high school in China, Nebraska and Minnesota until 2006
1997
Minnesota State Mankato student
Master’s degree in experiential education, 2002
2002
Educator
2003
U.S. Army National Guard serviceman
Served in Operation Enduring Freedom; achieved rank of command sergeant major
2005
Educator
2006
Candidate for U.S. House
2007
U.S. representative
Minnesota
2019
Governor
Minnesota
2024
Vice-presidential candidate
Note: Ages shown on timeline correspond to the age the candidate turned in the calendar year the event occurred.