dirty jobs

New grads get a ton of cliched advice; we wanted to offer something different. So we tapped some more unusual folks -- like Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs, and Tim Zagat of the Zagat guides -- to share the best and worst advice they got, and offer their best tips for the class of 2012.

Mike Rowe, host of TLC's Dirty Jobs, knows a lot about tough jobs, but the toughest one he's tackling is helping America's veterans find employment. Rowe notes that joblessness for returning servicepeople is over 18%, adding "It's a scandal."

Mike Rowe's TV show Dirty Jobs puts him hip-deep into the roughest, toughest and filthiest jobs in America. But for the past two years, he's had a second occupation -- running MikeRoweWorks, a website and foundation that advocates for old-fashioned, honest blue-collar work.

During the 2008 Presidential elections, it was the cartoon image on JoethePlumber.com that got America's turn-of-the-millennium perception of the trades just right, complete with pot belly, schlumpy pants, blue cap and "plumber crack." (Now that the one Joe the Plumber is famous, the site's been...

A friend who teaches classes on food preservation and "house holding" believes in the power of the plumber. Even before Joe became famous for the work, she was arguing that this economy called for our youth to learn trades, not technology. She has been urging her son to skip college and do...

The economy has contributed to sagging memberships at gyms around the country, but thankfully Americans aren't trading in their gym memberships for a spot on the couch. According to the Wall Street Journal (subscription required), many former gym members are turning to free and cheap home exercise...