Set career paths not a prerequisite to success, say two Tufts alums

We've all met them, envied them, and perhaps even been them: those students who have confidently mapped out their entire futures in their heads. But success is not necessarily arrived at through a linear or predictable course. Twenty years from now, in fact, those very students who filled out their applications to law school during their freshman year at Tufts may find themselves thriving in careers they never would have imagined for themselves.

The career paths of Julie Salomon and Bill Abrams, both of whom graduated from Tufts in 1975, are testaments to such unpredictability in career paths. Salomon majored in history at Tufts and then went on to law school for three years before deciding that her true calling was journalism and writing. She is currently the culture critic for The New York Times, as well as a bestselling author.

Salomon and Abrams both spoke at Tufts earlier this month, encouraging Tufts students to follow their passions, work hard, and be persistent in order to arrive at the career that is right for them.

Abrams' career trajectory illustrates the unpredictable nature of the future in a different way than Salomon's. As a young boy, his mother pushed him to become involved in his school paper. He majored in sociology at Tufts and then earned a degree from Columbia's Journalism School. Throughout his years of study, Abrams always envisioned himself as going on to a career in print journalism. Today, however, he is the president of The New York Times Television Division, which is one of the largest documentary companies in the United States.

Salomon and Abrams both have fond memories of their Tufts experiences. In particular, Salomon said her experience writing for TheObserver taught her a great deal about journalism and maintaining a strong work ethic.

Abrams, who also wrote for The Observer during his undergraduate years at Tufts, said that he wished he had taken more English literary courses rather than journalism classes. "If you write for a campus publication, you're getting a journalism education there," Abrams said.

Both Salomon and Abrams are in enviable career positions today, but their journeys to reach those positions were not without difficulty. "I went from job to job with no experience," Salomon said. "My first job was writing for the Wall Street Journal with a background of only one economics class."

By applying the skills she had leaned from her Tufts and post-graduate education, Salomon found herself the banking journalist for the Wall Street Journal at age 27.

The face of journalism has changed since he entered the field, Abrams said, and it is still changing. Abrams, whose company produces programs such as The Learning Channel's (TLC) Maternity Ward and Trauma, envisions the future of journalism as one that will involve conveying news through many forms of media. This type of journalism is known as "platform agnostic journalism," and Abrams joked that its success will depend on journalists' ability to multitask.

Explaining further, Abrams said that The New York Times television and print divisions often work in synergy. Frequently, the print division will produce an article or series of articles that the television division will transform into a concurrent documentary or special program.

Abrams now considers himself more of a storyteller than a journalist. His current type of work calls for that role change. "The story is the backbone, not the information," he said. But, he says, "the marrying of journalism and storytelling is difficult."

One major source of such difficulty is the fact that entertainment value has become a strong driving force behind what used to be purely news-oriented documentaries.

"The show Trading Spaces is a good example," Abrams said. "That kind of show is very different from what TLC [The Learning Channel] used to be: history, documentaries."

In a market where entertainment value is a driving force, an important aspect of Abrams' job is to keep a clear focus on what is news and what is entertainment. He seeks to marry the two in such a way that the result appeals to people but does not pander to their sensationalistic cravings.

Our generation "has grown up being videotaped," Salomon said, "so we have a different notion of reality and authority. How to combine that with using skills to bring the world around you alive for yourselves, contemporaries, and the people around you is the trick."

Both Salomon and Abrams advised students heading out to the workforce to follow their instincts.

"Find what hooks your passion and go with it," said Salomon. Even if that passion springs up entirely unexpectedly and is at odds with the future you had previously mapped out for yourself, "go do it," Abrams said. "Play the game at a very high level."