But not a easy one to answer!
The problem is that many employers will use certifications (and increasingly, college degrees) as a filter. This will often deny the Techs such as yourself the chance of even trying to sell (or prove) your experience. You also need to look at what competition you have for the available jobs. In many places, it has become a buyer's market (the number of job seekers far outstrips the number of available jobs).
The first thing to look at is your local job market and what things employers are looking for (combinations of experience, education, and certifications).
Base-level certifications are generally good for getting the "get-your-foot-in-the-door" entry-level type of jobs, where employers may not expect you to have much experience, but they do want you to have a basic level of knowledge in a given subject area (shown by your certification).
Looked at from a slightly different perspective:
Experience (hopefully) shows that you have actually done the types of things that the employer expects you to do.
Certifications (depending on the certification) may show anything from you can read a book and memorize answers, to the fact that you have mastered the body of knowledge covered by the certification. Some certifications may actually show that you have a certain level of experience also.
Degrees show that you are trainable and that you probably have the skills to systematically figure out the answer to a problem you haven't encountered before (please don't pounce on me; I know that a degree really means more than that; I'm generally talking about its usefulness as a filter).
In answer to your last question: if it gets you that better job, then it's worth the time and money; if it doesn't, well... Unfortunately, there aren't any guarantees. These days, even a combination of a degree, certifications and experience will NOT guarantee a job.
