>>Narrator: How do I know which path is best for me?

Is it possible to take on these challenges and obstacles?

Where do I even start?

What should I do with my life?

Sometimes, the only way to find out is to go see what's possible Since 2001, we've been sharing the stories of people who ventured out and explored different career paths and different possibilities for their futures.

This is one of those stories.

This is Roadtrip Nation.

[MUSIC] >> Narrator: On the last episode of Roadtrip Nation Paths Across Silicon Valley, the roadtrippers explore paths and trades in hospitality.

>> Kara: You don't always get to combine your interests and your passions and your career trajectory, but I think you should keep looking for it.

I think it's out there.

>> Narrator: Now the trip continues as they explore careers in tech, manufacturing, and life sciences.

[MUSIC] >> Anne: I'm really grateful for this experience.

It's been rewarding and at the same time it's also been challenging, having to face myself and think about myself in a different way.

The first couple interviews, I was super nervous.

But I think as the trip continued, I feel like I've gained more confidence in being in a room and actually having an opinion.

Yeah, this is where I caught my first crab.

Right there.

>> Kate: It's been interesting to hear why people made the choices they made.

It feels like there's a million doors to open and all of them have a million doors behind them.

[MUSIC] >> Narrator: One of the biggest industries in the world right now is technology and Silicon Valley is considered the mecca of tech innovation.

Some of the most in-demand jobs in tech might already sound familiar to you, like software developers, web designers, and computer systems analysts.

But what do these jobs actually look like day to day?

The roadtrippers met with industry leaders across Silicon Valley to find out.

[MUSIC] >> Erin: My name is Erin Relford.

I am a privacy engineer at Google.

>> Sal: My name is Sal Khan, I'm the founder and CEO of the not-for-profit Khan Academy.

[MUSIC] >> Evelin: I was wondering if you can explain your title and what exactly you do?

>> Erin: We all have mobile phones now, you've got apps, you've got websites you visit, you've got friends that you text over WhatsApp or what have you.

You're giving away data about yourself, right?

And so before we even get to the phase of launching an app or a product, it's asking those questions of, how are you gonna use that data?

What are you collecting?

What type of identifiers are we gonna use?

Because all the things that make you you can tell a story about you, and you're giving away this information every time you use a device.

And so a privacy engineer's role is to basically educate people on what those privacy principles are.

>> Sal: Our mission is free world class education for anyone anywhere.

I've always been intrigued by education for various reasons.

I did not think that was going to be my path.

I also ended up in software engineering as my first job or at least in the tech sector.

But it was 2004, my 12-year-old cousin Nadia, was having trouble with math.

I offered to tutor her remotely, she agreed, and the tutoring worked.

She went from being a student who was really struggling to arguably one of the strongest students in her class.

Word spreads in my family, free tutoring is going on.

[LAUGH] And before I know it, I'm tutoring 10, 15 cousins every day after work.

And then I started writing a web app for my cousins.

In the back of my mind, I was thinking, hey, if this is helpful for my cousins right now, maybe it could be helpful for everyone's cousins.

One thing led to another, 2008, 2009 about 50 to 100,000 folks were using what eventually became Khan Academy.

[MUSIC] >> Narrator: Tech is one of the region's fastest growing industries, which means there are tons of tech jobs opening up everywhere.

The top occupations currently include everything from data analytics to media production.

So there's plenty of variety within the tech field for you to engage your unique interests.

If you prefer working with hard data and stats, you might be interested in becoming a software developer or data scientist.

Or if you'd like to incorporate more design into your day to day, you might enjoy being a web developer or graphic designer.

Tech jobs can also be found in every other industry, whether it's healthcare, education, government or beyond.

So there are many different pathways for you to pursue within this sector.

[MUSIC] >> Erin: Although I'm an engineer now, I got my degree in computer science.

I was paying my way through school, and so I had to work full-time and go to school full-time.

And a receptionist gig was perfect and it was in an engineering lab and all of a sudden the guys, because it was all men, right?

They started to notice that, hey, she's actually kind of smart [LAUGH].

They were like, instead of being in the front, let's pull her in the back and just see what she can do.

It was really hard to be in school and people not look like me, I would be not only the only person of color, but also the only girl in the room.

So as I started to become more empowered, I would say, it was like, you know what?

Let me make sure I keep the door open for everyone else, and I tell people all the time.

I don't care where you are as far as your field or even your expertise.

Everything that you bring to the table from your experience like growing up actually helps to propel these disciplines in STEM further because they've never had your insight before.

>> Sal: Coming out of college, I did imagine myself wanting to start some type of a company in some way shape or form, and I ended up finding a job at a one person hedge fund.

So we're doing that small scale hedge fund, which did okay, but then this Khan Academy thing started happening.

And it was funny when all my friends, many of whom were entrepreneurs, some of whom were venture capitalists, said, how are you monetizing this?

What are you doing?

I was like, no, this is not a business, this is just my passion project, which is a strangely unsatisfying answer.

What, passion project?

That's weird, but that was how I protected it emotionally.

I started tutoring my cousins in 2004, it wasn't until 2009 that I quit my day job.

>> Anne: What final advice would you give us and other people around the world?

>> Sal: No matter what you do in life, carve out some space so that you can experiment with your passions.

And you don't know what they are, but when you see a sign, don't doubt the sign.

>> Erin: I deal with really hard problems in the world in terms of the work that I do, and none of it feels hard because I've done hard things before.

Sometimes you're gonna be the only, sometimes you're not gonna have anyone to turn to for the problems that you're dealing with.

It's not about knowing the destination.

It's about making the step.

[MUSIC] >> Anne: Erin Relford's interview was really empowering.

>> Erin: Fancy, love love.

>> Anne: A lot of the stuff that she was saying in terms of being a woman and taking up space, I do feel sometimes as a woman, I apologize for things that are minor inconveniences, that men don't really do that.

>> Kate: You need people who are changing the system.

I think that it's really cool that she's doing it and being very visible about it.

>> Erin: It says, keep going as long as it's a step in the right direction.

You're moving forward.

Thank you, [APPLAUSE] Thank you.

>> Anne:I feel like I've been scared to take up space, but I think my biggest takeaway is just to love yourself.

[MUSIC] >> Kate: I think the thing that was interesting about Sal was that he did start late.

And I think that's something that societal pressure, that youth is this limited resource and the only time you can do things and your worth to society decreases as you age.

And I think it's nice to hear someone who's not following that rule.

>> Evelin: When I think about tech I think about social media like Instagram and Facebook and then using it to do polls or just funny videos.

I never think about the positives, but I see that tech can be used for so many positive things such as learning.

He didn't know where it was gonna go through but just look how much he impacted others.

Look how broad it is now.

[MUSIC] >> Narrator: The manufacturing industry has been powering the Bay Area since the early 1950s, and since then, the demand for manufacturers has grown all around the world.

Manufacturing jobs include everything from supply chain managers to semiconductor processing technicians.

But what does a day in the life of a manufacturing professional actually look like.

Today, the roadtrippers are going to talk to industry leaders in manufacturing to learn how far the industry has come, and discover where the industry is going next.

[MUSIC].

>> Tom: My name's Tom, I'm the director of operations at KitchenTown in San Mateo, we're a food innovation center.

>> Kara: I'm Kara, I am a mechanical engineer by training, and now I am an instructor at De Anza College teaching all about 3D printing.

So this is similar to a 2D inkjet printer, you have a nozzle that's above right, and it's dropping little droplets of ink.

So if we do the same thing with resin material, it's actually dropping all these droplets of material, and it's rotating around under the UV light to harden the material.

I actually printed a business card for each of you.

>> Anne: Oh, thank you!

>> Kara: Yeah!

>> Anne: Whoa!

[LAUGH] >> Evelin: Even has the De Anza.

>> Kara: Yeah.

[MUSIC] >> Kara: As a test engineer, I was in there every day, printing parts, seeing what succeeded, seeing what failed, pushing the machines to their limits, right.

So I had all this creative freedom in my job that I didn't expect and it also kind of engaged my brain because I had to analyze everything that came out of that.

As an educator, I'm developing a lot of new curriculum, as you keep teaching.

It becomes more about connecting with your students, there's grading involved, there's reviewing material in this industry, things change so fast.

You wanna make sure that you're staying up to date in your learning.

So there's a lot of hands on, there's some reflecting, writing, analyzing and then of course, there's a lot of communication with the team.

[MUSIC] >> Narrator: Manufacturing is one of the region's biggest industries with jobs spread across three different subsectors: production, maintenance, and quality.

So if you enjoy working with your hands, you might be interested in becoming a machinist or electrical engineer.

Or if you're more interested in distribution side of things, you might enjoy being a quality assurance inspector.

All manufacturing jobs tend to incorporate problem-solving and learning new technologies in your day to day, so this is a great option for anyone looking for variety.

[MUSIC] >> Tom: There's a certain skill set that would be required to be in the quality department.

And there's a certain skill set that would be required to be in the production side, but there's entry level positions in both.

And one part of just work in general is just learning on the job, because you get so much valuable training, and you can kind of try it out and see I like this.

Or you see, hey, what are these guys doing over here, I wanna try that.

Especially with the quality side, you can take some classes and get some certificates and get kind of a foundation in it.

You kind of learn so many interesting things just being ambitious and saying, hey, I wanna learn more and there's an opportunity to learn at this job.

Even if it's not my favorite thing, it's still another line that you can put on your resume, and it might open a door to some other careers in another field.

>> Kara: I went back to school and I was like I don't know what I wanna do.

I was always good at writing, and I did English literature.

I actually did medieval English literature.

Graduated during the recession, and I got a job as a legal assistant which was fine.

But I was trying out art conservation, so I had to take some chemistry classes.

And I'm in my chemistry class and I'm looking at these engineering students as the engineering club and they're doing these cool projects.

And I was like, what if I just did that?

My chemistry teacher was like, don't just take engineering classes, go to the machine shop.

Go take some 3D modeling CAD, take machining, that told me what I wanted to do, I ended up doing manufacturing.

I ended up getting referred for an internship working in the 3D printing industry.

And it was just interesting because everything kind of one thing led to another and I think it's all kind of interconnected.

>> Anne: What advice would you like us to take away from this interview?

>> Tom: If you can find a company that you like working for and that your values align with and that you get along with the people you work with.

Anytime you get a chance to take on more responsibility, I would strongly recommend you do it, cuz that means you're gonna learn more.

>> Kara: Looking back, I was really surprised to find that all these different things I did that seemed completely unrelated.

Actually all led to something and they all build who I am today and the skills I have.

So it's okay to not quite know where you're going right now, I think that it's all going to honestly lead to a more robust and interesting skillset in the end.

Because all of these experiences are gonna add up and make you who you are.

>> Anne: I think it was really inspiring that she had this non-linear path, but then those things that she was doing before kind of led to where she is now.

It's really empowering to think that I'm not doing things the wrong way, it just takes time.

>> Evelin: Yeah that's true, even with my little accomplishments, I'm like that's funny, I went through this, but now I'm currently going through this and it led me to this project, you know?

>> Anne: Yeah.

>> Kate: It was really fun to see someone who's enamored with things that I think are cool and still passionate and still super excited to come to work every day.

>> Anne: When speaking to both Kara and Tom, I saw their passion and I saw that they like what they're doing and I guess it solidified what I was feeling.

After I graduated, I was prepping to do something in healthcare and I started thinking, how am I gonna balance my work and my life?

I was like, I'm not gonna pursue med school because it's not really feasible to do it with that career and a lot of people were also telling me the same thing.

But I wish I hadn't listened to them, and I wish I listened to myself.

>> Narrator: Over the past few years, health and wellness have been top of mind for everyone, including the roadtrippers.

But how many different career pathways actually exist in the world of life sciences?

Life sciences span the healthcare and biotechnology industries, both of which are growing across the nation and especially here in Silicon Valley.

And jobs in life sciences include everything from chemical technicians to research associates.

To get an idea of what these jobs look like day to day, the roadtrippers met with industry leaders to learn what it takes to forge a path in this evolving field.

[MUSIC] >> Steven: My name is Steven Richmond, I use he/him pronouns.

I'm a faculty clinical assistant professor here at Stanford.

>> Apoorva: I'm Apoorva Prasanna, I'm working as an associate scientist at Impossible Foods.

[MUSIC] >> Steven: So my day to day is very different, I'm a family medicine doctor, I work with, with PAs, nurse practitioners.

Other types of sub specialties, whether those be radiologists or gastroenterologists or neurosurgeons.

When I first came into the medical sphere, I very much wanted to be a neurosurgeon, but alas I didn't end up in neurosurgery, and why is that?

I think that there was a point when I realized that the people that I'm around every single day were more important to me.

To connecting to my purpose than the thing that I found the most interesting.

I found that there were individuals from all walks that were on the edge of the healthcare community and the social community out in the world.

And that to me was such a incredible intersection where change was happening.

Not in the exam room or the operating room, but right on the doorstep where the community is happening and alive and thriving or not.

>> Apoorva: If I have to give you a brief overview as to what my day looks like.

It can range anywhere from reviewing scientific literature to come up with hypotheses for my experiments.

It could be making lab prototypes in the kitchen using different ingredients and processing techniques, trying to get a better understanding of those prototypes that I have developed through analytical testing.

And then also understand the sensory performance of those samples in terms of taste, flavor, texture, appearance.

There is also some amount of data analysis in cross functional collaboration that happens with other teams, like sourcing, nutrition, quality, food safety and so on.

[MUSIC] >> Narrator: In Silicon Valley, the average hourly wage for an entry level position in life sciences is $24 but but this spans a number of different careers within the industry.

If you're interested in the research and development side, you might enjoy becoming a biological technician or inspector.

Or if you prefer to work directly with patients outside of a laboratory setting, you might be interested in working as a medical assistant or pharmaceutical sales representative.

With plenty of paths to choose from, jobs in life sciences offer a number of opportunities for a variety of skill sets, no matter your unique interest.

[MUSIC] >> Kate: Can you tell us a bit about what's the different paths or if there's one path that someone can take to become a food scientist?

>> Apoorva: Yeah, I think specifically to get to where I am, It's essential for someone to have background in life science or biology related area, followed by some food science degree.

If they don't have that food science degree, at least some experience in the product development space in a food company, I think have a bachelor's of engineering degree in biotechnology.

While I was pursuing my master's, I got an opportunity to intern with Perfect Day Foods, so that was my first introduction.

So after my internship that's what opened me to this whole world of alternate proteins and plant-based meat and dairy.

>> Steven: I got four different associates from community college and it was a very kind of low pressure thing.

I spent five years in community college.

Then I spent another three years at university after being a transfer student.

So it took me eight years to do my bachelor's, right?

And that's because I took my time.

One of the most important things I ever did is abandon that I should do this.

I should be further ahead.

I should be more accomplished.

That mindset does not serve you.

It will only bring you more trouble.

>> Anne: Our final question for you is what advice would you want us to take away from this interview?

>> Apoorva: When you wanna change a career path or when you wanna transition into something new, firstly do your research, try to read, talk to people, understand what it is that aligns with your interest, your liking, your value system.

Secondly, be proactive and try to network.

It could be joining student associations or trying to talk to professionals.

Being active on platforms like LinkedIn, trying to connect with people from your area of expertise or from the area of expertise that you're interested in.

Thirdly, not to be afraid of trying something new and unconventional to pursue your passion.

It's okay if it's different, it's okay to take up that unconventional path, and you could still make it big in that.

>> Steven: I want you to start to feel more comfortable in your own skin, and not feel like you should be somewhere else.

You should be exactly where you are.

And take pride in that, honor yourself and every day make small decisions that serve you a little bit more.

And I promise you, you will get to where you're going and you won't regret how long it took you.

>> Apoorva: It's been great talking to you all.

I just see my younger self in all three of you.

So I wish you all the very best.

>> Evelin: I really admired that Apoorva was able to to mesh all her passions together, because I'm really hoping my future looks that same way, that I'm able to mesh my passions to help people that have similar backgrounds as me.

And give them opportunities that I wasn't able to have.

>> Anne: I really love Steven's interview.

It shifted my perspective on life.

I'm only 24 and I kind of set this whole timeline for myself and I feel like because I didn't get that timeline, then it's over for me.

But I don't think that's the case.

It's like it's not too late to become a doctor.

I do think I spent a lot of time kind of blaming myself and regretting the decisions that I've made, but I realize if I didn't make those choices, I wouldn't be where I am today.

>> Evelin: I think I put into perspective that it's okay for me to feel afraid, but now why not try finding a home like that for myself and my career?

[MUSIC].

>> Anne: All right.

[CAMERA BEEPS] >> Anne: Ah!

[LAUGH] Today is our last day.

I'm really grateful for this experience.

This whole trip has been very rewarding.

I had a lot of fun and also this was a really insightful trip with how much knowledge we were able to soak up.

>> Evelin: Yeah, for sure last night I was processing everything.

Cuz we learned about so many different things, now I'm like there's so much good things out there that I do wanna pursue, but I'm how can I mesh everything together?

I have gained so much knowledge and different perspectives, where I'm like, okay, well what do I do now with it?

How am I gonna use all the experience that I've just received and put that into my everyday life.

>> Kate: Yeah, I don't know I think I'm kind of trying to slow down [LAUGH] I think that's my biggest takeaway.

Just kind of be where I'm at and I think that's okay for now.

I think when I was coming in, I felt very, like go, go, go, big picture impact.

And I think right now, my goal is just to be around good people.

The stretch goals are like can you help others?

That feels like a social responsibility.

But I think just having people around me who I trust and love and support and feel supported by, that's all I want.

>> Anne: I think the pivotal moment for me was talking to Dr. Steven Richmond.

I realize I don't wanna be in biotech anymore.

I think my next step is kind of figuring out the direction in which I wanna go in health care.

I'm kind of choosing between being a doctor or being a nurse, but I know I wanna do something in health care.

And I feel like talking to all our leaders, it kind of solidified what I wanted to do.

>> Evelin: Can I be honest I feel like I learned more from y'all.

Of course I learned more like about the opportunities and stability and stuff, but I think I really realized that I need to really step out of my comfort zone and y'all really helped me with that I really appreciated that.

So I think I took that away from this trip.

>> Anne: Aww that's so sweet.

>> Kate: Aww that's so sweet.

[LAUGH] >> Anne: I was like tearing up.

>> Evelin: No, cuz I'm a crybaby, and I will cry [LAUGH].

This road trip has helped me most in having hope again, getting to just know new people and seeing hey, we're all struggling, but we're all there for each other, I guess.

I did say I wanted to build confidence, and I believe I have.

It's not where I want to be yet, but for sure, I feel like I was afraid that I was gonna be the one that would lack asking questions.

But I think because it's such an inviting space, I've gotten that confidence to feel freely to ask those questions.

This is where I came from, can you tell me where you came from as well just to connect with you on a different level?

And I think that's also what helped my confidence is getting to know, hey they're people too.

They're struggling with this too, you're not the only one.

>> Anne: Aww, I want to hug.

[LAUGH] >> Anne: During this trip, I realized how much I love the people of the Bay.

I think that it's not really the place that makes it, but it's the people in it.

And meeting more and more people in the Bay Area makes me wanna stay.

>> Kate: I feel a little bit of renewed excitement around the Bay, I think I'm excited to become a local.

>> Evelin: It's just very impressive how you could live here and still not know what there is.

There's so much more to offer and I need to really just explore the Bay Area even some more.

[MUSIC] Wondering what to do with your life?

Well we've been there and we're here to help Our website has some awesome tools to help you find your path And you can check out all our documentaries, interviews and more Start exploring at roadtripnation.com