MADISON, Wis. -- Although this year's college graduates are entering the workforce amid rising unemployment numbers and fears about the economy, graduation is still a day of joy and optimism for most students.

This weekend, thousands of students will trade in textbooks for briefcases as graduation ceremonies were held at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and at Madison Area Technical College.

At the UW, about 5,000 Badgers received diplomas on Saturday as proud families looked on, WISC-TV reported.

The graduates themselves said that they were both excited and a little uneasy.

Katie Smith, a graduate in chemical engineering, gushed, "I just feel like dancing around and showing everyone that I have my degree and Llook what I did, I'm a Badger!' So I'm really excited."

Tom Reuter, who majored in mechanical engineering, said while he's excited, he felt less certain about the future.

"I'm feeling great," Reuter said. "I'm really excited. This is a huge transition in my life. I'm scared also because transitions typically make people a little nervous, you know?"

Steve Schroder of the UW's Business Career Center, said that worrying should be kept to a minimum.

"The overall news is this is a good market," said Schroder. "If you're graduating from college right now, this is a good time to be looking for a job."

Smith credits her confidence with the UW.

"I feel very comfortable doing whatever life throws at me and I know it's because of Wisconsin," said Smith.

The UW's School of Business report that the nation's top careers include engineering and nursing, with accounting ranking at the top.

The UW said that increased recruitment shows that the job market is steadily increasing. This year, 500 companies went to Granger Hall looking for potential employees. That total is up 3 percent from 2007, WISC-TV reported.

Elsewhere, Madison Area Technical College's Class of 2008 took in the excitement of graduation Saturday at Madison's Alliant Energy Center, where hundreds of grads looking forward to a promising future received their diplomas.