[CIPHERSTONE]

>0. Do not pursue certifications at all.

I somewhat disagree with this statement. While I agree completely that certifications do not equate to ability, education is never a bad thing.

For example, many of the SANS GIAC courses are run by industry experts that have a lot of real world experience. For example, I took the GCIH taught by John Strand (BHS) and the GCIA taught by Mike Poor (InGuardians) with material joinly developed with Judy Novak.

This may be unique for SANS courses, but I personally found combining quality education material with well vetted instructors that have real world experience to be quite useful.

It's certainly not a substitute for having real world experience, but quality education can be worthwhile.