 Cárdenas got his first job in operations at XEEW radio in Matamoros and worked at the El Bernal shredding plant in González as he pursued a degree in business administration from the Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas.He also became the director general of a hotel in Ciudad Victoria and of Cerámica Santa Mónica, S.A. de C.V. His business career continued to be diverse as the 1980s continued