[tallanvor]

Most certifications are pretty meaningless, except to suggest to managers that you probably at least know some basic information about the topic covered. If you're out of work, getting some certifications certainly wouldn't hurt, but if you're not worried about trying to find a job, you generally don't need to worry about certifications.

That said, there are a few certifications that are very hard to fake your way through. --I wouldn't put much stock in a CCNA or CCNP, for example, but someone who has CCIE most likely does know quite a bit about the area covered by the CCIE exam. Likewise, the Microsoft Certified Master program, which not only requires exams, but a certain number of years of experience (varies by product) in the product you want MCM status for, shows that you've been working with the product long enough that you probably actually know something about it (whether or not it really makes you an expert...) But these certifications don't really say much about your software development skills, which is what the Hacker News audience is probably more interested in.