Maybe it is different in Europe but I have been working as a consultant pretty much non-stop for large oil companies and some geophysical companies for the last 10 years and am pretty devoid of any certs. I have a few for Sun Starfire (large servers) but those I have because my employer paid for me to have them when I was doing work for them. As far as getting a job I can't remember a single interview ever being asked for any. Now on the other hand I work only on the *nix side of the shop I think maybe in Microsoft world they may be a more regular occurence.

IMHO you can have all the certs in the world but without real in the trenches knowledge and actually doing the job for a while you are still going to look green when you show up for the gig

cheers -

Jeffery