Upon finishing his bachelor's degree in accountancy as a full Scholar of the Del Monte Packing Corporation from 1964 to 1968, Paderanga worked for the then De La Salle College from June 1969 to May 1971.

He also worked as an instructor at the Foothill College in Mountain View, California, from September 1976 to June 1978 and as research assistant for the Center for Econometric Studies on Crime at the Hoover Institute of Stanford University from January 1977 to May 1979.

He completed his dissertation "Racial Preferences and Housing Prices: The Case of San Mateo County, California" under Richard Muth in 1979.

[6][7] Upon receiving his Ph.D. degree, Paderanga joined the faculty of UP School of Economics at the University of the Philippines Diliman as an assistant professor.

In July 2010, as NEDA Director-General under President Benigno Aquino III's Cabinet, Paderanga Jr. said that he sees an 8% growth in the economy,[8] higher than the original 5-6% forecast by the government.

Immediately after, President Aquino appointed him Chairman of the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) at his request, as he felt that this was a less stressful post where he could nonetheless continue to serve the government.

[citation needed] Paderanga died of complications from heart surgery on January 29, 2016, at St. Luke's Medical Center Global City.