Newt Gingrich is shown teaching a class at West Georgia College (now known as the University of West Georgia) in the 1970s. As a politician, he has long stressed his background as a scholar. Courtesy of Gingrich Productions hide caption
Job 1: Careers That Shaped The GOP Candidates Creating work for unemployed Americans will be the top priority for whoever wins the 2012 presidential race. An NPR series examines some of the formative jobs that each Republican presidential contender held before running for office.
Special Series
Job 1: Careers That Shaped The GOP Candidates
An NPR series examines some of the key jobs that each GOP contender held before running for office.
Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum greets voters this summer in Iowa. The Republican presidential hopeful has spent most of his professional life in politics. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption
Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul is escorted to a ballroom to speak to his supporters during the California Republican Party Convention this September in Los Angeles. The Texas congressman was once a small-town doctor who specialized in delivering babies.
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Rep. Michele Bachmann, shown speaking at a reception by the anti-tax group Iowans for Tax Relief, was once a prosecutor for the IRS. On the campaign trail, she has made that part of her resume a selling point.
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Herman Cain became a vice president at Pillsbury, left that job and started over at Burger King, where he climbed the corporate ladder again. Eventually, he became CEO of Godfather's Pizza, which he is credited with turning.
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With shaggy hair and skinny jeans, Jon Huntsman (upper right) strikes a pose with his band, Wizard.
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Rick Perry's parents still live on Farm Market Road 618.
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Mitt Romney, shown in 1993, is the former CEO of Bain & Co. In the 1980s, he started an investment fund called Bain Capital. His supporters say that's where he learned to solve big problems, create jobs and expand companies. His opponents say he made money by shutting down factories, occasionally driving companies into bankruptcy.
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