Here's what 2020 presidential candidates looked like at the beginning of their careers and how they look today

• There are now 13 candidates competing for the Democratic nomination to take on President Donald Trump in 2020. 
• All the candidates took markedly different paths to their careers in public service. Some went straight into activism as young students, while others are just now making their first entrances in politics. 
• Here's what the 2020 presidential candidates looked like at the beginning of their careers compared to now. 

The 2020 Democratic primaries are almost a full year away, but the field already contains 12 twelve declared candidates and is expected to grow even larger. 

For some candidates like long-time independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont who has held elected office since the 1980s, their 2020 presidential campaigns are the culmination of decades of work in activism and public service. 

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and Mayor Pete Buttigieg, both 37-year-old military veterans, have already made history as the youngest person to serve in the Hawaii state legislature and the youngest mayor of South Bend, Indiana, respectively.

Now, they are both seeking to break records again to become the youngest Democratic presidential nominee and youngest US president. 

And others, like spiritual guru Marianne Williamson and businessman Andrew Yang, are hoping to translate their success in the private sector into winning presidential campaigns, despite neither of them previously holding elected office. 

Here's what the declared 2020 presidential candidates looked like at the beginning of their careers compared to now. 

Donald Trump endeavored on a mission to build a "Television City" for NBC and other networks in the 1980s, but he didn't get $700 million in tax breaks he requested from New York. Now, he's trying to secure funding for a wall on the southern border.

Source: Crain's New York Business

Back in 2004, Kamala Harris worked as district attorney for San Francisco, back when Gavin Newsom was mayor. Newsom is now California's governor and Harris is a US senator and a presidential candidate.

Source: Politico

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York was once captain of the squash team at Dartmouth College — and now plays for the women's congressional softball team.

Source: Vanity Fair