For three years after college graduation, Daniel Seddiqui struggled to land a job. So he shifted gears and went after 50, one in each state, for one week apiece.

It’s a tall order, made taller earlier this year when he worked at Universal Orlando as a stilt walker. The Florida theme park was his 33rd stop on the journey that began in August.

Seddiqui has pulled shifts as a border-patrol agent in Arizona, a rodeo announcer in North Dakota and with a maple-syrup maker in Vermont. “It smelled really good,” he said. His goal is to work in a wide range of occupations and absorb the diverse cultures of the United States.

Besides stilts duties, he has been a greeter at the Simpsons Ride at Universal Studios and a “grouper” — as in “How many in your party?” — at the Incredible Hulk roller coaster at Islands of Adventure.

Read all about his adventure!

Amherst College President Anthony Marx spent six years at the school extolling public service and teaching. His efforts were rewarded this year when eight new graduates took jobs with Teach for America, now the largest employer of Amherst students besides the college itself.

As U.S. President Barack Obama urges young people to make a difference in the world and the recession crimps opportunities, new graduates are pursuing public-interest careers. At Amherst, at least 53 percent of May graduates with jobs are working in education, nonprofit groups or governments, an increase from 43 percent in 2003 when Marx started at the school, said Allyson Moore, director of the campus career center.

Read all the stats and find out more about Teach America!

Ah, college. For many people, those first four (or five, or six … ) years you spend away from home, mixing school with a social life, are some of the best you’ll ever have. Somewhere between teenhood and your adult years, you’re allowed (maybe even encouraged) to mix a lot of pleasure with your business.

Soon enough, the real world slaps you in the face and you’re a real adult. But for some, the party never ends. We decided to pay homage to our friends who never grow up by listing 10 common signs that you’re still living like you’re in college. Let us know of any we missed in the comments. Viva la “Animal House”!

Check out the 10 signs here!

A much smaller number of the college graduates this year will find jobs. That fact has been over examined in the press along with the fact that the long recession means that those graduates who do find jobs will get them at relatively low wages. Furthermore, those wages will stay low for the next several years while the economy recovers.

What has not received much press is the fate of the young people who are in the 2009 graduating class at U.S. high schools, especially those students who will not go on to college. Unemployment among college graduates is still below 5%. Unemployment among people who have only graduated from high school and have no additional training is over 10%. People who did not graduate from high school at all have greater than a 15% chance to be among the jobless.

Check out why college seniors should feel hopeless.

Graduation may be an exciting milestone, but the ceremony itself is far from memorable for most people. Not only is sitting in a cap and gown for three straight hours uncomfortable (especially when it’s hot and that itchy rayon is rubbing against your neck), but the speeches are boring… and they go on forever. Oh, and leaving college is incredibly depressing.

But that whole “boring speech” thing isn’t the case for some lucky graduating classes. Yes, there are a select few schools in this country that had some pretty bomb diggity commencement speakers this year. Speakers who make me sorta wish I could sit through a three hour ceremony getting a weird tanline on my forehead from that ridiculous cap I’d be forced to wear.

Check out this list of the most bad ass commencement speakers of 2009.

A new crop of job seekers is joining the ranks of the millions of unemployed: soon-to-be college grads. And, unfortunately many students in the class of 2009 are finding out that the job prospects aren’t especially bright. According to a spring 2009 study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), employers expect to hire 22% fewer new college graduates than last year.

There are still plenty of jobs out there, but this year’s graduates may have do a lot more legwork (networking, for example) and they may have to opt for a job that they hadn’t really considered before, says James Tarbox, director of career services at San Diego State University. In fact, the job search may have little or nothing to do with their major. But for many students, getting a paycheck may be more important — especially once those student loans bills start arriving.

If you’re graduating next month click here to see where the jobs are!

President Obama is not the only one having problems giving a commencement speech. A group at American University is protesting the selection of Congressman Barney Frank for an honorary degree and as the commencement speaker for the American University School of Public Affairs.

A letter written to the School of Public Affairs calls Barney Frank’s record “as a key player in our current economic crisis is almost as offensive as his endless refusal to accept responsibility for it.”  Sarah DeStefano, the founder of the Facebook group “AU Students & Alumni Against Barney Frank @ SPA Commencement ‘09”, told AU’s student newspaper, “The Eagle”, she is “sickened that the university would want to undermine the worth of my education by honoring a man with such a dishonorable record” stating that “Frank stood by and did nothing as our economy tumbled further into dismay.

On the record, he insisted that desires for further oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were ‘overblown’ and that ‘Wall Street would get over it’ if the banks collapsed.” DeStafano wonders how the Congressman “can honestly look students in the eye who are struggling to find a job.” (more…)

This sucks.

I busted my ass, did well in school, made smart choices. Now, I am graduating after four years of college that I paid for all myself – not through selling my “virginity” – but through loans. Now what? There are no jobs in the major markets that are even marginally appealing to anyone. I am not lucky enough to have parents who can float me for a year. My dad is a construction worker, but no offense, I am not graduating cum laude to do construction – sorry. I am just not sure I have a choice. But here are the few choices for graduating seniors I could scrounge together:

1. Everyone and their little cheerleader sister are heading to grad school. They don’t even know what for, but they took their GRE, MCAT, GMAT and every other test acronym I can think of. The upside is a delay for entering reality and you can push loan repayment for another 3 years or so, but F&*$ THAT! I need a break from school. I would love to actually get out of the academic world for at least a brief stint. Not writing off grad school totally, but I need about 2 years to figure out what I want to do. That degree in Finance, with a concentration in structured finance, that I am about to get isn’t worth the paper it is printed on. Thanks to my academic adviser! Way to steer me into a stable high growth industry.

2. A couple of my friends are determined to enter the military. Right now, there are serious incentives for entering the military. $10,000 in cash, money for grad school, and they will repay a portion of your school loans. Not too shabby, but we are talking about the military. Let us be straight, the US Military is not the beloved treasure it once was. My brother was in the Army and said he would help repay my loans for me before I join the military. Though tempting, I can’t take him up on it. Even though it will TOTALLY suck, it buys me 3 – 5 years, travel (to a desert somewhere in the Middle East), and serious help with school loans. The other upside is that as college graduates, we jump 5 pay-grades to an E-6 (Staff Sergeant) after training. Obviously I am trying to talk myself into this one – but it just seems drastic.

3. My girlfriend wants to join the Peace Corp, but with the way people LOVE Americans right now, I feel like that is joining the military without being given a gun. I hear stories about people who serve in the Peace Corp and attacked in foreign countries…not cool. Albeit, two of the people I know attacked in Africa were girls – I am just leery of that whole system. There are good stories too. People who get to travel the world, gain different perspectives, and learn different languages. Also, loan deferment is good – but they pay next to nothing, and my family doesn’t have money to spot me. I almost feel like the PC is more for rich kids who don’t want to go into the family business just yet. Either way, language experience in Swahili or something like that is not exactly going to a huge resume builder.

4. So many people are now running to get certified with education credits so they can teach. I am not one of those. I can’t teach. I would want to bang hot high school schools and 6-year-olds annoy the piss out of me. Noble profession, just not for me.

5. The Priesthood or some other religious vocation? I will pick up the Rosetta Stone – Swahili edition before I do that. Again, don’t like 6-year-olds.

6. There is always the option to just suck it up. Suck it up, and try my luck out in the job market. The problem is that there are tons of people in there late 20s through their 50s competing for the same jobs. People with ridiculous experience right now. I read in FORTUNE that GE right now has 50-year-old former executives with MBAs and law degrees, applying for the same jobs as college graduates. One thing is for sure – I wouldn’t pick me.

Seriously though – if I missed an option, please let me know. Yes, the idea of porn star and circus performer did cross my mind, but again – trying to not waste the $70,000 I just spent on school.

Every year millions of bright college students waltz into classes assuming they’ll ace it just like they did in high school. Sadly, the majority of them are wrong, leading to countless hissy fits, sob sessions, and complaints. This isn’t good for students or teachers, so to help everyone out I’ve decided to explain exactly how to get straight A’s in college. It doesn’t require much more work than high school, but it’s a different game and you need to learn the new rules. [universitiesandcolleges.org]

Two Professors Theorize On Bin Laden Hideout

After all these years, where is Osama bin Laden? Two college geography professors think they know. Professors Thomas Gillespie and John Agnew of the University of California at Los Angeles use satellite-imagery analysis and elaborate geographic methods to theorize that bin Laden is in the city of Parachinar in the mountains of northwestern Pakistan. [primenewscenter]

How to Land a Job Abroad After Graduation

Always dreamed of traveling the world?  While this may seem like an unrealistic fantasy your senior year when faced with the immediate reality of low entry-level salaries and expensive college loans to repay, it could actually be a more attainable dream than you think.  All it takes is a little creativity, some planning, and a lot of determination on your part. Working abroad right out of college has many advantages.  It can put your career on the fast-track, it can teach you invaluable cultural nuances and give you the opportunity to become fluent in another language, it can overshadow lack of prior job experience or a less-than-stellar GPA on your resume, or it could be the perfect unique experience to make your application for the graduate school of your dreams stand out. [collegeknowitall]

You can try putting it off by switching majors or reducing your semester workload, but it’s inevitable – eventually you’ll collect enough passing grades to graduate. Our society views this sheet of paper as a marvelous accomplishment, but if you’re a slacker like me, it’s a kiss of death.

Why? Because college is a non-stop party with a refreshingly minimal amount of responsibilities. Dorm life, coeds, beer pong, football, 2 am Taco Bell, coeds – these are the best years of your life, my friend (even your parents will tell you that). And that diploma is going to ruin it all by forcing you to grow up and get a “real” job.

At least, that’s what is supposed to happen. In the famous words of Geoffrey the Giraffe, “I don’t want to grow up,” I’m a lazy ass kid. And lucky for all you other lazy kids out there, I’ve managed to pry myself away from my Arrested Development DVDs long enough to help you avoid being an adult for a few more years. Here are some tips that will keep you coasting and out of that suit and tie: (more…)