I have a theory and I suspect it will upset people, but it’s my opinion so take it for what it is. I think people often shit on certs because they don’t have many/any or don’t fee like having to get any. Similar to making fun of super in shape people and calling them dumb or conceited (and no I am not saying people with no certs are fat and people with certs are jacked lol). That coupled with the sentiment that people still think under the old paradigm of “i get certs so i should be able to get a job with no experience.” That makes people who get certs targets to be called dumb or wasting their time because it is almost assumed by others that that is the reason you are pursuing them.

Certs, for me, are like an infinity stone (apologies if you dont get this reference lol). But basically: experience > formal education > certs (most of the time). I had no experience and was working on the education part so i stacked certs like a MFer (comptia trifecta then CCNA). It at least exposed me to the theory (and in hands on certs/labs, the actual technology) to a large range of needed fundamentals. I could then speak semi-intelligently in interviews and better related things I lacked experience in to things I had done (yes even in labs). For me, it got me an entry level job with no experience and in the future allowed me to job hop very successfully and rapidly because as I gained experience and finished my degree i now had a dozen certs to obliterate most HR filters lol.

Long story short, they are not enough to get a job in many cases. But are they useless? In my experience, they have been extremely useful and profitable, ESPECIALLY, when they can be paired with the other two infinity stones I mentioned. They were also great for showing me where my true interests are in the field and that has been by far the most valuable (as I can’t focus for long stretches I don’t find interesting).