Nonsense. I've hired a lot of developers, and I pay zero attention to programming language certifications. In fact, if someone claims several, it raises a warning flag. I've been hiring in places where people don't get screened by Human Resources (HR) first, so your mileage may vary.

Lack of a comp sci degree can hurt you at places that place a lot of value on academics (e.g., places that were started by academic types), or places where you have to pass through an HR filter first. I give relatively little weight to a degree, and more weight to what someone has actually done, and how they think and express themselves.

If you want to gain credibility as a Perl professional, develop something that you can write about, and get your name in print. Or, contribute to a visible development effort.