Follow along with Paul Salopek's "Out of Eden" multiyear, 21,000-mile storytelling journey across the globe in the footsteps of our ancestors. Read more about where he has been and where he is going next!

Career

Follow a travel blog.

Create distance between yourself and your routine! Take something you're interested in and seek out a location or an event that supports that interest within your time and budget.

Day to Day

Travel to a new place. 

Make a list of 3 things you've always wanted to do but were scared to try, then choose one and brainstorm 3 small steps you can take to make it happen. Does breaking it down make it more manageable?

Face your fears.

Reporters and Correspondents

Collect and analyze facts about newsworthy events by interview, investigation, or observation. Report and write stories for newspaper, news magazine, radio, or television.

Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

Artistic

Second Interest High-Point

Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

Enterprising

Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Investigative

Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Conventional

First Interest High-Point

Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Social

Third Interest High-Point

Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Realistic

Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed

News Analysts, Reporters and Correspondents

Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations

Media and Communication Workers

Report news stories for publication or broadcast, describing the background and details of events.

Arrange interviews with people who can provide information about a story.

Gather information about events through research, interviews, experience, or attendance at political, news, sports, artistic, social, or other functions.

Investigate breaking news developments, such as disasters, crimes, or human-interest stories.

Receive assignments or evaluate leads or tips to develop story ideas.

Discuss issues with editors to establish priorities or positions.

Check reference materials, such as books, news files, or public records, to obtain relevant facts.

Revise work to meet editorial approval or to fit time or space requirements.

Develop ideas or material for columns or commentaries by analyzing and interpreting news, current issues, or personal experiences.

Transmit news stories or reporting information from remote locations, using equipment such as satellite phones, telephones, fax machines, or modems.

Present live or recorded commentary via broadcast media.

Conduct taped or filmed interviews or narratives.

Edit or assist in editing videos for broadcast.

Write columns, editorials, commentaries, or reviews that interpret events or offer opinions.

Write reviews of literary, musical, or other artwork, based on knowledge, judgment, or experience.

Research a story's background information to provide complete and accurate information.

Establish and maintain relationships with individuals who are credible sources of information.

Review and evaluate notes taken about news events to isolate pertinent facts and details.

Review written, audio, or video copy and correct errors in content, grammar, or punctuation, following prescribed editorial style and formatting guidelines.

Report on specialized fields such as medicine, green technology, environmental issues, science, politics, sports, arts, consumer affairs, business, religion, crime, or education.

Determine a published or broadcasted story's emphasis, length, and format and organize material accordingly.

Take pictures or video and process them for inclusion in a story.

Communicate with readers, viewers, advertisers, or the general public via mail, email, or telephone.

Write online blog entries that address news developments or offer additional information, opinions, or commentary on news events.

Assign stories to other reporters or duties to production staff.

Participate in community events, make public appearances, or conduct community service.

Compact digital cameras

Desktop computers

Digital audio workstations

High definition HD video cameras

Laptop computers

Laser facsimile machines

Microphones

Mobile broadcast units

Multi-line telephone systems

Personal computers

Satellite phones

Television cameras

Video editing equipment

Adobe Systems Adobe AfterEffects

Adobe Systems Adobe InDesign

Apple Final Cut Pro

ESRI ArcView

Facebook

FileMaker Pro

Hypertext markup language HTML

IBM SPSS Statistics

LexisNexis

Mapping software

Microsoft Access

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Office

Microsoft PowerPoint

Microsoft Publisher

Microsoft SQL Server

Microsoft Visual FoxPro

Microsoft Word

Online databases

Quark Xpress

Social media software

Statistical analysis software

Twitter

Video editing software

Web browser software

YouTube

Foreign Correspondent & Journalist

The Roadtrippers interview food scientist Elise Benstein at the Jelly Belly factory before speaking with Nuclear Engineer Deon Clark about his rough childhood in South Side Chicago. Later, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Paul Salopek shares his non-linear life experiences.

The Power of Serendipity

My background is extremely eclectic and nonlinear. I do have a degree in biology from the University of California. But no surprise, it has nothing to do with what I'm doing now. It's just another piece of the mosaic that led me on the path to become a reporter. From the time I was about 16, I was basically riding around on a motorcycle doing odd jobs, from installing walk-in freezers to working at a gold mine to working on fishing boats as a commercial fisherman. And all that I consider to be part of my education. >> What led into the journalism from that point? >> Like most things in my life, an accident. I had just finished my undergrad degree in environmental biology at UC Santa Barbara. And I was gonna take the summer off to go work on a shrimp boat in the Gulf of Texas, and the motorcycle broke down in a place called Roswell, New Mexico. And I had $60 on me, and it wasn't enough to repair it. So I had to stay in this small town and find work. I stayed in the home of an old woman who rented me a room for $25 a week. And she happened, by just the merest chance, to be a former journalist, and she said, there's a reporter's job open at the local paper that'll pay you two bucks above minimum. And they hired me on the strength of having a college degree. I knew nothing about journalism. And that just completely took my life in a completely different path. >> Once you became this reporter at Roswell, New Mexico, what was that journey to become to where you are right now? >> It was uneven. I got bored with the Roswell job after less than a year, and went and worked on a ranch in Mexico for a year. But then I came back. I kept coming back to journalism. I started regionally at a small newspaper, went to a little bit bigger newspaper. And for the last 13 or 14 years, I've been based overseas. So, I got to where I was by no sort of pre-plotted line. No sort of career-orientated, well thought out plan. It was going where the story was. >> What inner forces kind of just led you down that? Do you think this is a conscious process or do you think it's just kind of happened as a subject of your life? >> I think both. I think part of it's been accidental. I hear a lot about the word passion. It's a very popular word these days in the United States. I think it's overused. It's been devalued. I think it's like a coin that's been rubbed too much. It's easy to say, find your passion. But people don't appreciate as much the power of serendipity in their lives. Something has happened that's completely unexpected and it knocks you off kilter. And what's your reaction? It might be irritation or frustration, but when you look back on it ten years from now, you might say, wow, I'm really glad that happened, because I have accumulated this since then in life experience. So you have to be open to these Ys in your road. And open to being moved by new experiences. Starting next year, I hope to set off on a self-propelled assignment. And it'll be a walk across the world, in the pathways of the first anatomically modern humans to successfully disperse out of Africa about 50,000 years ago. It'll be rendering current events as a form of pilgrimage, if you will. I'll take about seven years by my calculation. It will leave the Rift Valley and head north into the Middle East and then cut across central Asia up the coast of China into Siberia, where I'll take a vessel over the old Bering Strait, there used to be a land bridge to Alaska, and then ramble down the length of the New World. And I'll be writing as I go. It'll basically be a transect of what it's like to be alive today in the world. >> So we are traveling for seven weeks, and I know that this took us a lot of time and energy to plan this seven week trip, which in comparison looks pretty rinky-dink. When did you conceive of this and how did that planning process come to be? >> I thought about it about two years ago. The idea is to plan it, but not overplan it. It goes back to my talk earlier about serendipity. I'll run into obstacles the way our ancestors did. If I come to the Hindu Kush and the passes are frozen up, I spend three months at the foot of the Hindu Kush writing, waiting for the passes to unthaw. What happens when I go into a place that's previously been stable, but suddenly there's conflict? All these contingencies will be unanswerable until I get there. I spent a career parachuting into stories around the world. But what I've been missing my entire life are all the places in between that none of us see because we fly over them or we drive through them. We don't slow down enough. The connective tissue between stories is as important as the so-called stories themselves. A genuine pleasure meeting comrade voyagers. Bonne journée. [FOREIGN], I'll see you all out on the trail. [FOREIGN] 

Chance

Education

Experience

Exploration

Passion

Planning

Interview

My background is extremely eclectic and non-linear. I do have a degree in biology from the University of California. But no surprise it has nothing to do with what I'm doing now. It's just another piece of the mosaic that lead me on the path to become a reporter. From the time I was about 16, I was basically riding around on a motorcycle doing odd jobs. From installing walk-in freezers to working at a gold mine to working on fishing boats as a commercial fisherman and all that I consider to be part of my education. >> What lead into the journalism from that point? >> Like most things in my life an accident. I had just finished my undergrad degree in environmental biology at UC Santa Barbara. And I was gonna take the summer off to go work on a shrimp boat in the Gulf of Texas, and the motorcycle broke down in a place called Roswell, New Mexico. And I had $60 on me and it wasn't enough to repair it. So, I had to stay in this small town and find work. I stayed in the home of an old woman who rented me a room for $25 a week. And she happened by just the merest chance, to be a former journalist. And she said, there's a reporter's job open at the local paper that'll pay you two bucks above minimum. And they hired me on the strength of having a college degree. I knew nothing about journalism and that just completely took my life in a completely different path. 

Life Like A Mosaic

Starting next year, I hope to set off on a self propelled assignment and it will be a walk across the world in the pathways of the first anatomically modern humans to successfully disperse out of Africa about 50,000 years ago. It'll be rendering current events as a form of pilgrimage, if you will. It will take about seven years by my calculation. It will leave the Rift Valley and head north into the Middle East. And then cut across Central Asia, up to coast of China, into Siberia. We're all take a vessel over the old barring straight there used to be a land bridge to Alaska, and then ramble down the length of the New World. And I'll be writing as I go. It'll basically be a transect of what it's like to be alive today in the world. >> So we are traveling for seven weeks, and I know that this took a lot of time and energy to plan this seven week trip. Which in comparison looks pretty rinky dink. When did you conceive of this, and how did that planning process come your way? >> I thought about it about two years ago. The idea is to plan it but not over plan it. It goes back to my talk earlier about serendipity. I'll run into obstacles the way our ancestors did. If I come to the Hindu Kush and the passes are frozen up. I spend three months at the foot of the Hindu Kush, writing, waiting for the passes to unthaw. What happens when I go into a place that's previously been stable, but suddenly there's conflict? All these contingencies will be unanswerable until I get there. 

Seven Year Journey

Once you became this reporter at Roswell, New Mexico, what was that journey to become where you are right now? >> It was uneven. I got bored with the Rowell job after than less than a year and went and worked on a ranch in Mexico for a year. But then I came back, I kept coming back to journalism. I started regionally in a small newspaper, went to a little bit bigger newspaper, and for the last 13 or 14 years I've been based overseas. So I got to where I was by no sort of pre plotted line, no sort of career orientated, well thought out plan. It was going where the story was. >> What inner forces kinda just led you down that? Do you think this is a conscious process? Or do you think it's just kind of happened as a subject of your life? >> I think both. I think part of it's been accidental. I hear a lot about the word passion. It's a very popular word these days in the United States, I think it's overused, it's been devalued, I think it's like a coin that's been rubbed too much. It's easy to say find your passion, but people don't appreciate as much the power of serendipity in their lives. Something has happened that's completely unexpected and it knocks you off kilter. In which your reaction, it might be irritation or frustration but when you look back on it ten years from now you might say wow, I'm really glad that happened because I have accumulated this since then in life experience. So you have to be open to these Y's in your road and open to being moved by new experiences. 

Serendipity

I had just finished my undergrad degree in environmental biology at UC Santa Barbara. I was going to take the summer off to go work on a shrimp boat in the Gulf of Texas and the motorcycle broke down in a place called Roswell, New Mexico. I had $60 on me and it wasn't enough to repair it so I had to stay in this small town and find work. I stayed in the home of an old woman who rented me a room for $25 a week. She happened, by just the merest chance, to be a former journalist. She said, there's a reporter's job open at the local paper that'll pay you two bucks above minimum and they hired me on the strength of having a college degree. I knew nothing about journalism, and that just completely took my life in a completely different path. It's easy to say find your passion but people don't appreciate as much the power of serendipity in their lives. Something has happened that's completely unexpected and it knocks you off kilter. What's your reaction? It might be irritation or frustration but when you look back on it ten years from now, you might say, wow. I'm really glad that happened because I have accumulated this since then in life experience. 

Paul Salopek Highlight

I spent career parachuting into stories around the world but what I've been missing my entire life are all the places in between that none of us see because we fly over them, or we drive through them. We don't slow down enough. The connective tissue between stories is as important as the so called stories themselves. A genuine pleasure meeting comrade voyagers, [FOREIGN]. I'll see you all out of the trail. [FOREIGN] 

All The Places In Between

Jobs have just gotten more abstracted, that's your saying. We've become what one writer calls symbolic manipulators now. We do writing, we work on computers, we don't use our hands much, but that is work. In fact, I would say sitting in an office in front of a computer screen eight to ten hours a day, is probably harder psychically than being out and repairing cars, or where you're using your body and lifting things, and using analytical skills to put pieces back together. But I think you'd search for it, look for it, you will find the work that suits you. You just have to sift through a lot of jobs, unless you wanna be a PhD in linguistics. In which case, that's great, because then you've found what you want to do, and you know what your path is going to be. 

Hard Work

Symbolic Manipulators

Fear is relative. Walking into a fire fight might not get up my adrenaline as much as being on camera, believe it or not. I'm not used to this so this is very stressful to me, to be filmed. But I'll do it for a better good. The physical fear aspect of it, everybody has different thresholds. I've been with really good reporters in conflicts who are terrified out of their minds and they are better reporters than I am. Fear can be your friend. It can keep you alive. It will tell you when to run away and if you don't have that, you end up getting hurt. Or worse yet, you end up getting other people hurt. If you don't have the imagination to know what a bullet can do to you, You don't belong there. So, you manage fear. You don't deny it. You don't embrace it and become a cowboy, and go running out there into the gun fire. You manage your fear, and use it to your benefit. Which is it keeps you wired. It keeps you awake. It keeps you switched on. That is where fear is your friend in terms of doing things I think we all have fear nothing fears good is healthy we evolved to have fear. But if you start letting it stop you too much cuz you want it to stop you from doing certain things because the world can kill you [LAUGH] but you don't want it to stop you from doing a lot of things. And it's something I've noticed when I come back to North America. This is longest I've been in my native country since I was in my college years. And I've noticed there's a lot of messaging in the media about fear. I think it starts very early, with children, in the culture that the fear of violence, fear of things being taken away from you. This is a pretty fear addled society. I mean that's a huge value judgement. But when I come from Africa where people have often in many cases a lot more to fear. They lead lives that are much more supple. And less rigid. And I think it comes with being maybe a little too comfortable. When you get a little too comfortable, when you accumulate a little too many things, and you get to thinking that those things are extraordinarily important to you. I think that lets you open to fear. 

Culture

Fear

Fear Is Your Friend

I was captured and therefore, and held in prison for over a month during that war. And my greatest regret is that I got two colleagues involved, my translator and my driver. And they had to go through that experience as well. I think that was a failure on my part, not to be more thoughtful about their safety. Any time you have this feeling that it could have been done better, you could have been more honest or more forthcoming, or more giving and you're not, that's a failure. And fortunately, we have a lot of those in our life to learn from. >> How do you combat your failures to keep yourself- >> Learning from them, I would like to think. I'm not better than anybody else at it. I try to learn from them, I try. Sometimes I don't, sometimes I make them again. I don't think there'd no be advancement if there weren't failure. I think we'd be drifting off like sub-atomic particles in space on some weird narcissistic, self-aggrandizing trajectory if we didn't have failure to remind us what's at stake. Because life is a gamble. And any game that's played without stakes remains just a game. And life is not a game. 

Failure

Learning From Failure

I was just wondering, how do you walk into these situations where you're not qualified, per say? >> [LAUGH] >> And be confident enough to just roll with it? >> Yes. There's a lot of bluff involved. >> [LAUGH] >> I mean my first fishing job, I told them I knew how to fish when in fact I didn't even know how to swim. I still don't know how to swim so I've worked for years at sea not knowing how to swim. Basically, you have an inner confidence to say okay, I know I can do something. And if I fail, it's okay. The ability to fail is crucial. You have to be able to say it's okay to fail. Fear of failure's okay. I have a tremendous fear of failure. I don't like failing. But I also accept that I have to fail sometimes to get better. Or at least just to keep forward momentum going. Otherwise life would be pretty boring. 

Confidence

Master The Ability To Fail

I just am so curious. How do you operate at this high cognitive level in the midst of war and conflict? When all your physical and psychological needs aren't necessarily being met, how are you operating at this really intensely high level? >> I think that goes to the obsessive part of the equation. You know, we're talking about flexibility. But there is an obsessive part of that equation. I think I get obsessed. I get obsessed with telling a story. The people I've worked with have complained about it to the point where they have to remind me they have to eat and sleep. And stop and relieve themselves behind a tree. Things that I forget to do. So I can go for days on a story with very little sleep. With almost not eating. I'm not, it's not something I'm boasting about. So it requires I think a single mindedness. And I think people in business will tell you this too. If you're gonna really stand out, you have to be able to do things that other people don't do. And whether that's create beautiful art, or hammer together a compelling, innovative company, or create an extraordinary curriculum, you have to be almost obsessive about it. 

Paul Salopek

Foreign Correspondent & Journalist

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Paul Salopek

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