[PaulHoule]

One trouble w/ the certifications is they are generally around some specific technology and not principles.

For instance I had no problem at all switching from Java to C# and there's a certain kind of developer who is not intimidated at all in starting in a new job in a language they don't know. (e.g. even as a consultant I had other people pay me to get started in Python)

The certifications however are always for Red Hat or Microsoft or Oracle or AWS, something that is either proprietary or that tries to package something open source as if it was proprietary. In some cases these programs are pretty good (MSCE was pretty rigorous back in the day) but they add to the fragmentation of the industry.