Skokie Worker Finds 50 Jobs in 50 Weeks in 50 States
Skokie man finds 50 jobs in 50 states
By MATT BARTOSIK
Updated 1:46 PM CST, Tue, Oct 13, 2009
Need a job? Ask Daniel Seddiqui.
The 27-year-old college grad was stuck at a dead-end job in Skokie when he decided he would, somehow, find 50 jobs in a year: one job per week in each of the 50 states.
"You have to be able to go out of your comfort zone and be sure of yourself and know that you're going to make things work out," Seddiqui told the New York Daily News.
Granted, not all of the weeklong gigs were pleasant. For example, he worked as a border patrolman in Arizona. "A lot of people threw rocks at agents. We carried pepper ball guns," Seddiqui said.
And you'll need to think highly of yourself to work as a film company executive in Los Angeles. Because no one else will pat you on the back.
"They treated me like garbage," he said of his bosses.
Seddiqui's strange trek began as a daydream at his unfulfilling office job at a bio-research firm in Skokie. Seeking adventure and new experiences, he called hundreds of companies nationwide in hopes of accomplishing his year-long project.
He had to be persistent though; Seddiqui says that about 100 companies in every state turned him down.
"I try to find jobs that relate to the culture of the state," Seddiqui told the New York Daily News.
Not all of the jobs were horrible either. Working as a dietician in Mississippi was incredibly satisfying, Seddiqui says. "I enjoyed teaching people how to help themselves."
You might even find some decent pay, too. In just one week in Minnesota, Seddiqui made $2,000 working in medical device manufacturing at Metal Craft. "They gave me extra for marketing. I got them on CNN."
But if you're in it for the money, don't work with the Amish. Seddiqui only made 100 bucks making furniture in Pennsylvania.
The young multi-laborer still has one task before him though. He will be returning to Skokie to write a book on the entire experience.
We imagine that his résumé now looks like a book just by itself.
Matt Bartosik, a "between blogs" blogger, isn't giving up his day job.
Copyright NBC Local Media / NBC Chicago
First Published: Oct 12, 2009 11:16 AM CST
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