In my experience, real world hands-on experience has always trumped degrees and certifications...especially after so many companies have been burned through the "diploma mill" type fiascoes a few years ago. There is no recession for me because I can handle ALL of the IT needs of my small company. Cisco, Novell (when it was popular), Windows, Linux, Mac, HTML, PHP, etc., etc. You learn what is needed and become proficient at it. The real difference for most companies is the employees' ability to handle customers and staff with equal grace. Talking to them as people (having good relational skills). Being able to handle computer illiterates one minute then being able to meet with management about budgets and needs. Unfortunately, this is a dying skill for ubergeeks who've spent their lives in their parents basements playing video games, hacking, etc.