I just had to respond to this thread and throw my 2 cents in. I can certainly
see the frustration of hiring managers (having done so myself) that receive a
load of resumes full of "certified" individuals who don't know squat. That
is what a tech interview is for, though isn't it? Unfortunately to get to
that interview you need a bit of flash to get your foot in the door. The
world is as full of people claiming to be a linux guru as it is of MCSE's. I
think some certs at least show that you are capable of learning, and some of
the higher level ones show that you are capable of understanding/using
concepts as well.
Now I freely admit to being a cert collector/whore - I just do it for fun
nowadays but I am willing to back every bit of it up in a tech interview - in
fact I normally ask to tech interview with the heads of the unix, security,
AND networking groups to prove I know what I claim to know (and I'm pretty
sure I could pass as a high-level Microsoft guy if I desired). But it would
be a tragic mistake on anyone's behalf to pre-assume that all those letters
means I don't know what I am talking about. That's stereotyping, isn't it?
Don (take it as a good-spirited needling, please) I'd like to point out
that this means that you have way too much spare time and an employer
who doesn't care much about squeezing from you all 110% of what you can
possibly do 
--vadim
Nah. I'm just a quick study and it's better than drinking all weekend.
Oh, you _do_ have weekends
--vadim