Magers received his bachelor’s degree at the University of Washington in 1977. Getting their first degree in college may be enough for most University students. One wasn’t enough for the ambitious Magers. He wanted to accomplish more and was willing to put in the work to get to another level. In 1979 he graduated from the Hamline University School of Law and got his juridical doctorate degree. With such a qualified degree, Magers was confident and ready to enter the workforce.

Magers originally planned to pursue a legal career because of his degree he earned at Hamline University School of Law. Legal jobs pay well financially even though the workload can be too overwhelming for a lot graduating students. Magers thought that law would be his profession of choice but his life would take a drastic turn. The aspiring lawyer would find himself in a totally different field.

Magers became interested in television because of his brother Ron Magers. Ron had a job in the TV industry which caught the attention of Paul. Magers was able to see the benefits that his brother got from working in the TV industry. He was also able to get first hand insights on the potential drawbacks of working on TV. From observing his brother, Magers was able to analyze the job and make a decision on if it was the right path for him to pursue. Magers eventually decided that a TV job was worth pursuing and he dropped his dreams of working in the legal field. It was a heavy and tough decision to make because of all the years in school he had already put in. He was not walking into the TV industry with a relevant degree, he was walking in empty handed but it was a challenge that the hard working Magers had no problem accepting.

Magers’ first television job was at the news station KSTP-TV in St. Paul, Minnesota where he worked as a technician, dispatcher and producer. Having three different roles as a newbie wasn’t that outrageous because it was a small station that allowed Magers to manage different positions. He gained enough experience and moved on to become a reporter at the news station KATU in Portland, Oregon in 1979. He had an amazing assigned in 1980 when he covered the eruption of Mount St. Helens. Magers started to feel validation for making the career choice of switching from his legal background to television broadcasting. He would have never gotten a chance to be up close and personal to a volcano eruption if he was still working at a job in the legal field.

In 1981, Magers moved to San Diego, California to work as a reporter and anchor at the news station KGTV. Paul moved back to Minnesota and arrived at KARE (formerly known as WTCN) in September 1983, along with his co-anchor Diana Pierce. They remained a strong team until September 2003. Paul and Diana's 20 years of anchoring the 10:00 PM newscasts on Channel 11 is a record in Minnesota. Magers was heavily immersed in the culture and lifestyle of Minnesota after spending two decades there. During this time at KARE, Magers also developed on air chemistry with meteorologist Paul Douglas. Their fun bond was popular among the television audience. He also got along really well with the station’s sports director, Randy Shaver.