Forget Fountain Pens: 5 Gifts New College Grads Can Really Use

The classic graduation gifts -- fountain pens, desk sets and copies of Oh, The Places You'll Go! -- are perfect if your favorite grad is headed for an artist's colony or off on a vacation. For that matter, the designer tool kits and retro luggage that were enthusiastically embraced by the readers of HuffPo College are great, but won't ease the path from the dorm room to the board room.

For most grads, though, life after college isn't going to provide lots of leisure for contemplation or cruises. With half of recent graduates out of work and student debt shooting through the roof, our young friends will need to hit the ground running, so the best gifts are ones that will help put them on the fast track to a job.

With that in mind, here are five of our favorite presents for the young grad on the go. And, hey, if the recipient gets hired, you can still buy them retro luggage for their first vacation!

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Bruce Watson is a senior features writer for DailyFinance. You can reach him by e-mail at bruce.watson@teamaol.com, or follow him on Twitter at@bruce1971.