If you can, get a certification. Alot of people say that they don't matter, but I have to disagree. It does two things.

1. It gets you in the door, which is the most important. Especially if you do not have any experience. The degree is great too, and that should do just as well to get you in the door. Number 2 below is the real reason I think people should get certified and why employers want them.

2. With all of this partnership stuff going on, employers get credit/points for having certified personnel. Microsoft Partnerships for example. That increases their status when promoting their business. My company doesn't always require certification to get hired, but you only have a month or two after hiring to start getting some.

So on to the certs. If you have the money and time, find a certification school. Techskills is one off the top of my head. They can be pricey though. $3000+. If you do not have the money, go to sites like PassGuarantee.com and get the certification package you are looking for. I think they are usually under $100 for most of the stuff. Go through the guides and live and breathe their test questions. They are usually word for word the same questions on the real exam. When you are ready, take the exam. They usually run between $100-$150 for the basic exams.

I haven't taken any exams in a few years, but I need to start looking at getting the latest versions of SQL and Dynamics myself.

And finally, Texas is a good place for IT. Houston, Dallas and Austin are great IT hubs. And Texas is doing really well during this economy.

Can I ask if you specialized in you IT degree? I recommend staying away from programming and getting into databases or Cisco. Programmers are a dime a dozen these days it seems.

And finally to help with the job search, it doesn't hurt to use an IT job placement company. They'll get you the interviews and after a few months on a job, you can go on permanently with a nice 15%-20% raise.