In my experience (Score 1, Interesting)

Having a lot of certifications will get you passed over during the interview process. I live in Maine which is not a giant tech state. People see those on your resume and assume they cannot afford you. Also I've never got a job that didn't come about by knowing someone on the inside. My first job I got after being a temp for two months. They liked me and hired me. The second job, an old teacher of mine (UNIX/Solaris) is one of the head UNIX Admins and I'm sure that didn't hurt me at all.