Being the ideal representative of his family and one of the finest specimens of public schools, John became the first person in his family to attend college. He worked his way through North Carolina State University where he graduated with high honors in 1974, and then earned a law degree with honors in 1977 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

However, for the next 20 years, John dedicated his career to the proper representation of the families and children just like the families he grew up with in Robbins. By offering stiff resistance and standing up against the powerful insurance industry and their armies of lawyers, John was instrumental in succoring these families through the darkest moments of their lives to overcome tremendous challenges. From his childhood he witnessed the hapless conditions of these wretched families, his fervent support for people like the folks who worked in the mill with his father earned him a wide respect and recognition across the country.

It was the year 1998, when he took serious concerns of the ongoing politics and took this decision to enter into the world of politics to materialize his dream to give a voice in the United States Senate to the people he had represented throughout his career. He ran for the Senate and won, defeating an incumbent Senator. While in Congress, Senator Edwards though his sharp acumen very rapidly emerged as a champion for the issues towards making a difference to American families that included quality health care, better schools, protecting civil liberties, preserving the environment, saving Social Security and Medicare, and reforming the ways campaigns are financed.

It has also been viewed that as a member of the Select Committee on Intelligence, Senator Edwards worked at his best for the growth of a strong national defense while strengthening the security of the United States of America. He was also seen in the forefront of enlisting inputs of pieces of legislation on cyber, bio, and port security.  He also brought a positive message of change to the 2004 presidential primaries. It was in the primary season that he first made his maiden speech about the existence of polarized society or the existence of two Americas, one for the people belonging to the higher echelons of the American society or the haves, a powerful community who possess everything they need to and one for everybody else who struggle to get by. Though of a fire brand leftist outlook but this powerful message vibrated in the varied corners of the society along with the growing consensus with voters all over the land of America.

Meanwhile, it was after the Democratic primaries when Senator John Kerry became able to single out Senator Edwards for serving as his running mate in the 2004 general election, and Senator Edwards crisscrossing the length and breadth of the entire country campaigned tirelessly on Senator Kerry's behalf.
He is the former Director of the Center on Poverty, Work, and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It was on 27th December, 2006 hen he first expressed his keen interest to entry into the Presidentaial Election of the United States of America in 2008 as a candidate of the Democratic Party.