Undergrad, working on a BA.

So what you're saying is that a temp agency is probably a good idea?

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"Man lives in the sunlit world of that which he believes to be reality. But unseen by most is an underworld, a place that is just as real... but not as brightly lit... A DARK SIDE!"
-opening from Tales From the Darkside

It can be... there are of course +'s and -'s

On the plus side, you don't have to committ yourself to an organization, you can "try before you buy" -- do you like the job? do you like the culture of the organization? do you like your coworkers? what sort of advancement opportunities are typical? do the other employees like it there? etc. You get very different answers to these questions in a job interview. Some people have no problem jumping from organization to organization as an employee, but some of us have a tendency to stay on longer than we should either out of devotion or aversion to the job hunting process. Temp jobs give you an easy way out. It also gives you job experience to put on your resume. Many organizations hire a lot of permanent employees from the temp staff simply because firing bad people has become more difficult in recent years. They too like the "try before you buy" approach.

On the negative side, you are often underpaid for your work (especially if you go through a temp agency). Jobs tend to take less skill than you might like, and you don't get paid vacations/health benefits like you would with a regular job (but then again, temp jobs are temporary!). Another trap is that you can find something that seems reasonable and you take the "easy path," discovering years later that you really aren't happy with your career path. The world is filled with people who say, "I'm good at my job -- I can't stand it -- but I'm good at it."

Oh -- as for me, I'm a "research scientist" at a major university, which is basically a professor that doesn't have to teach classes, and works contracts instead of studying my own line of research.

I tranlated a job temp job sorting bills and checks into an temp accounts payable position then into a full time permanant AP position, then into a full time tech support position. It can work. It can also suck. But its something to try until your dream job comes along. Or it may lead to your dream job.

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Catz: "And, the ever-sage Volvo Driver:"

GRADES!! I jerked around for most of my first two years in college, I remember a Philosophy class I went to twice the entire semester (the first day and the final exam)...ironically enough I got an A- in that class. But it didn't work so well in my other classes and after two years I had a 2.3 GPA. I had to bust my A** the last two years to get up to a 3.25 overall. And after all that it didn't matter a lick, I never had one single employer ask for a copy of my transcripts. Whether a 4.0 or a 2.0, doesn't matter as long as you have the paper.

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All you need to know about the energy crisis:
ANWR Exploration Republicans: 91% Supported. Democrats: 86% Opposed.
Coal-to-liquid R's: 90% YES. D's: 78% NO.
Oil Shale Exploration R's: 90% YES. D's: 86% NO.
Outer Continental Shelf Exploration R's: 81% YES. D's: 83% NO.
Increased Refinery Capacity R's: 97% YES. D's: 96% NO

SUMMARY: 91% of House Republicans have historically voted to increase the production of America’s own oil and gas. 86% of House Democrats have historically voted against.

When I was in the position of trying to get entry level employment after college, potential employers invariably wanted to know about GPA, both overall and in my specific major. I never had to get them any transcripts though. So I guess in reality, somebody could say they had a 3.7 when they really had a 2.7.

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Tiger got to hunt, Bird got to fly, Man got to sit and wonder 'Why, why, why?'
Tiger got to sleep, Bird got to land, Man got to tell himself he understand.
~Bokonon

Grades matter for some of the federal jobs I've applied for. And I'm pretty sure if all other things are constant they might count. They also matter for getting into grad school in order to pursue more opportunity.
All depends on what you want.

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"Man lives in the sunlit world of that which he believes to be reality. But unseen by most is an underworld, a place that is just as real... but not as brightly lit... A DARK SIDE!"
-opening from Tales From the Darkside

That's true! It doesn't matter.

As Liberty mentioned, the temp thing can really work out for you. But it's not perfect.

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I wasn't born with enough middle fingers.

After I finally get around to taking the GED test, what job will I be best suited for?

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"I am a Tory Anarchist. I should like every one to go about doing just as he pleased- short of altering any of the things to which I have grown accustomed." (Max Beerbohm)