Certification Or Capability

Personally, I would choose skills.

However, the final hiring decision often ends up being the candidate that has it all.

In the present job market, companies find it fairly easy to find candidates that have both the skills and the certs.

I remember years ago, my manager hired an engineer to do tech work because an engineer was obviously better than ANY technician.

An important point to keep in mind, is that having certifications and degrees shows a hiring manager that you are fully committed to your field.

I recall a vendor evaluation survey that I was involved in a few years ago. A large portion of the preliminary survey focused on the ratio of degreed professionals to all staff.

Like it or not, many factors influence the hiring process. Having appropriate degrees and certifications GREATLY improves your chances of being hired.

Chas

You also need to make sure you understand the distinction between capability and experience.

You can acquire a capability by reading a book. This does NOT equate to experience.

Experience shows that you have actually used a set of skills (hopefully successfully) in a business environment.

Employers want experience, not just capability.

If anything, certifications often relate more to capability than experience. A certification often only shows that you have "mastered" a given bodyof knowledge. It does NOT show that you can practically apply that knowledge. That's what experience shows.