Unfortunately, that means trying to find a job in an economy that is clearly struggling and has been for many years.

What should you do if you are one of the ones who is now trying to find jobs for college graduates?

You might add Gradspring into your list of websites and strategies. It is a relatively new site where recent college graduates (or soon to be graduates) can go to find real entry level jobs. The emphasis is on “REAL” because no home jobs or Internet jobs you can do from your local coffee shop are allowed.

If you are graduating any time this year, you should be VERY happy to get an entry level job. Even if you do have work experience, expecting something more than entry level might not be realistic.

So, Gradspring is perfect for college graduates who want to find and apply to as many jobs that they can while avoiding the scam jobs and types of jobs that might be posted on Craigslist.

It is free to sign up and browse through the available jobs. Once you find something you are interested in though, it will cost you $35 for one month, $75 for 3 months, or $125 for 6 months to find out more and apply. Interestingly, the 6 month $125 price includes free 6 month extensions forever until you get that job so the most you can ever pay is $125 if you sign up for that right from the start.

Do you believe it?

After all, college students are one of the groups that have really struggled through this recesson as they graduate with more debt than ever before only to find jobs in short supply. Even if a job can be found, many times has been for less than 40 hours a week and a wage that is less than desirable.

The news media is going to make things sound as good as it can because journalists are mostly liberal and want President Obama to get reelected. And then we have the government that always comes out with reports which skew the numbers in their favor (both Republican and Democrat administrations do it) to make things look better than they are. Many people are starting to realize that you just can’t take the government or the news media at its word anymore.

So what is the real truth? Are things really getting better? Real people are the only ones that can answer that question. Real people who are out of work and looking for jobs would be the ones who know whether more jobs are opening up. College students who have their ear to the ground would know what the situation is with their friends who have graduated and are out in the workplace. Real people who do have jobs would know whether their current jobs are in as much jeopardy as they were several months ago.

Please answer the poll below to show how you feel about the current economy. How do you feel about your future financial situation and job finding prospects?

Mr Obama, stop the BS song and dance and do something REAL about the high cost of college. Here’s a link to a Whitehouse website article about how they care about making higher education more affordable and the tax credits they are giving or expanding to help make that happen. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Some measly tax credits aren’t enough to make a difference and they aren’t going to help me get a job after I get that overpriced degree.

Upping a Pell grant by $800 is going to help me pay for college? And what is the American Opportunity Tax Credit? Go read all the FAQ’s associated with it and tell me how that is going to really help me. More red tape I have to go through to get all or part of some tax credit for up to $2500 is NOT going to help!

College costs a hell of a lot and we have to pay with loans and our own money. I don’t need small tax credits from Obama and more empty rhetoric, I need him to get the costs DOWN. Most colleges cost $10,000 or more per year and those tax credits hardly make a dent. I NEED TO PAY LESS UPFRONT!

Maybe he can’t do much about private colleges but he can surely do something about state colleges. He can start by spending less money and not bankrupting this country. He can make getting colleges to lower their prices a priority and he can lead from the top. Of course that would be if he really cares and obviously he doesn’t.

Lots of college aged students helped Obama get elected because he gave them hope. Three years later all we see is record numbers of debt being piled up and a lot of excuses. We see Occupy Wall Street protests everywhere being led by our generation of pissed off 20 to 30 year olds who can’t get jobs even when they have a college degree. We need to see real change and not more BS posturing from the Whitehouse.

Many students are so much in debt when they graduate that it takes them more than 10 years (sometimes even more than 20 years!) to pay off. THAT is not a situation you want to find yourself in. College students today need to get smarter about what they pay for their education and manage their finances carefully. That means getting a job as soon as possible and preferably getting one that may lead to a full time job later. Be smart and keep your debt low!

Everyone knows that interns get paid little or nothing and that is why you might not be keen on getting one. If you have fixed bills to pay and the internship doesn’t pay enough for you to make ends meet, you might not have this option. But for those students who want to get their foot in the door of a company that might actually be interested in hiring them later, an internship can be the way to go.

This isn’t the case just for the tech industry as all sorts of company hire interns. You have to remember that the competition for all jobs in America is super high right now and many college students and graduates are finding it almost impossible to find work. Becoming an intern first is a real way to get ahead of the pack and make connections within a company. If you are an intern that works hard, does an outstanding job, and is liked, don’t you think that company will perhaps hire you before they interview unknowns to fill a job?

Jobs for college students are in high demand throughout the school year and during summer vacation as well. Even if you aren’t really looking for a career right now, getting an internship will look good on your resume and may lead to something later on. It is smart to be thinking ahead as much as possible because at this point, it is unlikely the economy and jobs situation is going to improve any time soon.

A recent article outlines the possible hard times ahead for younger generations who want to live a good life and retire in their 60′s which is the traditional age most people associate with retirement. With 40 years of inflation ahead of us, the switch from guaranteed pensions to employee funded 401K’s, and the uncertainty that Social Security will still be solvent, it is clear that today’s college students have a very unsure future ahead of them.

It is clear that making as much money as possible and learning how to invest it is the best path if you want to be able to retire comfortably. An additional problem is that so many students now graduate with tens of thousands of dollars in school debt that it is often many years before they can pay it off and actually start saving. That is if they can even find a job in the first place!

College students should be thinking long and hard about what they want in their future because the direction they take with their major and classes could be a determining factor. For instance, while history may be interesting to some students, they should know that it won’t lead to any high paying jobs. There are a lot of crazy majors now days and many of them will get you a degree but that is about it. Employers want to see a work history and a solid education in the same field as the job opening.

Jobs for college students that are in the same field as your major are a great addition to your resume as all relevant work history is a plus. The important thing is that it is vital in today’s floundering economy that college students get serious about their futures right away. Yes, college is fun and should be fun but those students who actively look to their futures with a plan will be the ones who do best in the long run.

Hopefully the $2,000,000 number is way high but it serves as a reminder that students are in the beginning stages of mapping out their dreams and their lives. It is going to be a long hard uphill battle for many young people and they should be picking their college majors carefully with an eye on what different jobs pay.

We all want good jobs for college students and graduates but now you have to start being smart about it and planning ahead. Way ahead.

Picking the right major is imperative today because lets face it, not all jobs pay the same. And with unemployment such a concern, there are industries and fields that have much more opportunity and higher pay than others.

For instance, based on this very useful chart from the Wall Street Journal (you can sort it too), it seems that careers in science, engineering, finance, and nursing will be some of the better choices for new college graduates. Those fields not only have the lowest unemployment rates but they have some of the highest pay as well. On the flip side, it is not hard to understand why majoring in history, English, art, or psychology will make it harder for you to find a good job that pays what you probably think you are worth.

Planning ahead and choosing the right major and career is so important now that the cost of getting a degree is so high. You can read article after article on how students today are struggling with debt, having to move back home, and even having to declare bankruptcy just because their debts are so high and jobs are so hard to find. Now is the time to do the smart thing and plan your major carefully and know what you are getting yourself into when you graduate.

Jobs for college graduate used to be something that students could take for granted. With a degree in hand, most students would be able to find some kind of work. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case and the sooner you realize exactly how dire the situation is, the more able you will be to plan ahead and make the right choices.

Today though, President Obama did outline some new guidelines that should make every college student happy and make paying their loans back a bit easier. His plan was supposed to begin in 2014 but due to the deteriorating economy and the dire need for help, students deserve this break sooner than later he said.

1) Starting in 2012 Obama’s plan will lower the student loan maximum payment from 15% to 10% of discretionary annual income. Another important change is that unpaid debt will be forgiven after 20 years instead of the 25 years that is currently on the books. These changes will make things financially easier on students who are struggling to pay off loans.

2) Also meant to financially aid students will be the new ability to consolidate loans from the Federal Family Education Load Program and any direct government loans into one loan. This will enable students who have both of these kinds of loans to get a lower overall interest rate, maybe as much as half a point better than before. Affecting millions of students who have loans, these new measures are meant to make college more affordable at a time when most everyone needs relief.

Of course none of this is going to help anyone get a job and that is also on the mind of most college students and recent graduates. College student jobs are in high demand and a very stressful subject for most young people. The American dream of going to college and graduating to find a good solid job waiting for them seems to be a dream of the past. With Unemployment rates approaching 10% and no indication that things are going to get better, today’s college students are in a very bad financial position, especially with the exorbitant tuition prices we now see everywhere.

It is also very possible that President Obama, by having these measures start in 2012 instead of 2014, is hoping to get more votes from students and younger people who might benefit from them. It is well known that he won his presidency with wide support from college students in 2008 and he surely wants that vote again next year.

Will these new student loan relief measures put forth today make you more likely to vote for Obama in 2012?

But what I don’t get is why college students are not gathering and protesting on COLLEGE CAMPUSES around the country?

Many (most?) students today graduate in debt and the reason for that is the ever skyrocketing cost of tuition. It’s CRAZY how much college tuition has gone up and students are pissed! It doesn’t matter whether you are going to a state college or a private college, your tuition is WAY HIGHER than it should be. It’s not right that today’s students have to start their lives in so much debt after they graduate and start looking for jobs that aren’t there.

Many of these Occupy Wall Street protestors are college students who are pissed about being in debt so why aren’t they taking their fight to the place that is responsible: their own colleges? The banks aren’t responsible for high college costs. Corporations aren’t responsible for out of control tuition. Politicians have nothing to do with the price of college. TAKE YOUR FIGHT TO THE PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR RAISING YOUR TUITION YEAR AFTER YEAR. Occupy your colleges!

I just don’t understand why there aren’t rallies on every college campus throughout the country. Make your displeasure with high costs known to those responsible: college deans, presidents, professors, and everyone else who has a part in jacking up your tuition.

College students today are paying more for their degrees than any generation before them and they have a right to be upset about it! But if that is ever going to change, college students are going to have to organize and start letting their colleges know that they are upset. It is the only way!

Young adults today who are looking for jobs for college students or for graduates, surely know how to sign up for sites like Snagajob, Monster, and Job.com. They of all people are familiar with the Internet and are comfortable using it to do a variety of things which include getting their resumes online so that the right people can find them. But for this “Internet generation”, they must fight the tendency to be lazy and stop there.

The job hunt can’t end with what you do online. Not in this economy. Several years ago you might have been able to get away with putting your resume online and applying to a few jobs before being accepted but not now. In 2011 and going forward, getting a job usually means having to work hard to get it.

So, what should you be doing after you put your resume online?

1) Networking. Do it online and offline. Connect with as many people and businesses as you can and let them all know you are looking for a job. The more legwork you do on your own, the better chance you will have of meeting someone that has a job for you or knows someone who can help you.

2) Personalize every resume and cover letter you send out. It’s much easier to send your stock resume along with a general cover letter but that is what most other people are doing. You need to set yourself apart and show employers that you are the real deal. The extra effort you put into constructing customized resumes and cover letters tailored for each possible job could make the difference.

3) Double and triple check your spelling and grammar. A mispelled misspelled word or sloppy sentence is not what you want to have at this stage of the game. Given two candidates that are equal, an employer will probably hire the one that didn’t make the mistake(s) on their resume.

4) Look everywhere. If you can’t seem to find a job on campus, look off campus. If you can’t find a job in your college town, start expanding your search. Look for online jobs or freelance opportunities online. Be as creative as you can and think out of the box. Yes, I know that is easier said than done but use this job hunting time to learn about yourself and figure out what you can and can’t do.

Remember, this is probably not going to be the last time in your life you will be looking for a job. Hopefully it will, but the odds say it isn’t. Work hard to learn how to find a job. Some people are definitely better at it than others and generally speaking, those that put in the most effort are the ones that end up being the most successful at finding something.