Is there someone here that is an IT manager? If so what do you look for when hiring?

I am currently enrolled in college and am having a hard time with my schedual. The degree that I am seeking lacks enrollment and it looks like I am never going to graduate. So you say why not go to a differnet college? Well the one I am attending is a 45 minute drive. If I where to transfer, I would add another 45 minutes to my drive. So with 6 classes to go I am stuck.

So when you hire for a job, do you prefer a college degree or certificates? I am really thinking about obtaining some certifications and putting my degree on hold for a couple of years (I hate to quit anything). Which one would land me a job?

I'm not a hiring manager but...
We were talking about this the other day at work. I really don't think it matters if you graduate from the school next door or one 40 miles away. Most people would think they are close in academics. (Close in geography, staff, etc)
Degree vs Certificates
I would get the degree. Example: 2 guys doing the same job person A has a degree person B doesn't both equal in skills etc usually the person with the degree gets the promotion or better pay. Call it the good old boy network or whatever you want but it happens.
As for the certificates they may or may not help. Would you hire someone with a MCSE over someone with a degree? Would you hire someone with a MCSE to manage your Linux servers? Sure a certificate is better than nothing as long as the certificate is relavant.
Personally I think if you have the time do them both. If you have a light schedule at school work toward a certificate at the same time. The $ is usually in the degree...

I think one of the best things you can do (certainly in England) is to get some work experience maybe in the 2nd or 3rd year of your degree - somethings thats relevant to the job you might eventually want to do - employers here currently seem to favour some kind of work experience (depends on the degree)

I totally agree with Skyline. I am almost done with my degree in Management Information Systems and if it wasn't for my internship (yes they pay me to manage linux servers) there is little chance I could find a job after college. My buddies with masters degrees in Comp Science are being turned away for lack of experience. I guess it is a factor of the lousy economy and a glut in supply.. Find an internship man, it's the best way to get experience and maintain a flexible schedual for school work..

I'm not a hiring manager but one of the best things you can do (if you can) is to do temporary or part time jobs to show experience. Experience is always number 1. If you have a few hours to volunteer your time to do something for a non-profit that will get you double points.

When you get a job make sure you continue learning and keep up with the current technologies. Excel and you will be rewarded.

I guess I should have stated that I have been in charge or mostly in charge of the network at where I work for over three years. It includes 34 workstations, 2 servers, 11 thinclients, 8 networked printers, 8 Weber Label makers, plus the faxes and copiers and such. Basically we are all Windows, except for a couple of UNIX servers that run MRP systems, which are located a couple of states away.

In the last eight months I have put out between thirty to fifty resumes. I thought that three years of experience and working towards an associates degree would have got me a little more replies. I have not had a lot of calls and thought mybe that it was my lack of paper (degree or cert).

Pcghost, I'm jellous. You get to admin Linux servers.

Although not an IT manager - I am involved in recruiting IT staff in the UK.

My advice would be to make sure that your resume (CV to us in the UK!) concentrates on your achievements. There are lots of arguments about how long CV's should be - but it's all about relevant detail.

Don't just list everything you have done/are doing. Make sure that the reader can identify what it is that you are really good at - which can often be shown by the things you have achieved in your employment. If you have specific technical skills, make sure they go on the front page. Similarly, think carefully about what it is that you can add to their organisation - what you can bring to the party - and make sure that you put that very clearly on the front page.

The problem that many people face when submitting CV's is that the reader/employer is often bombarded with other CV's and so will resort to speed reading. If your CV doesn't say what it needs to say on the front page, it may get passed by and the other pages never even looked at.

Qualifications and experience are both important. I totally agree with Skyline about the UK situation. Unfortunately I lack knowledge of your employment market and it may be somewhat different in the States. Darthtux is also right about making sure that you keep your skills/knowledge up to date. Whether you do that through formal training courses or through self study is up to you. Obviously one will give you a certificate at the end !

One final thing to bear in mind is that not everyone understands/appreciates a technical CV, so consider who it is that you should be sending it to in the first place.

Good luck !

i think u will have a tough time to start if u have a certificate instead of a degree. but slowly it all boils down to how u perform in ur job.