50 jobs, 50 states in a year? Man gives it a try

[February 24, 2009]  THERESA, Wis. (AP) -- At a time when some people are having trouble finding one job, Daniel Seddiqui is lining up 50 -- one in every state.

Each job symbolizes the state's most famous industry, and each lasts one week -- just long enough for the 26-year-old to appreciate the labor and explore the region.

He's been a park ranger in Wyoming, a corn farmer in Nebraska and a wedding coordinator in Las Vegas.

Last week, in Week 23 of his yearlong saga, he was a cheesemaker in southeast Wisconsin. He mixed ingredients, hoisted slabs of cheddar -- and tasted plenty of his work.

"I would say this was as hard as logging," he said Friday, referring to his stint as a logger in Oregon three months ago. "Everything here is done by hand so there's a lot of heavy lifting."

Seddiqui, who grew up in Los Altos, Calif., insists his job-hopping isn't a gimmick. It's a legitimate effort to travel the U.S., learning about cultures across the country and developing a respect for what other people do, he said.

For example, at his Nebraska job he was surprised that every farmer he met had a college degree.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.