In my experience hiring and then seeing how people perform over time I've roughly concluded that during screening / interviewing absence of a degree is not a negative signal (can be positive), but presence of certifications has consistently been a strong negative signal.
I know there are a few areas in which they are seemingly unavoidable, i.e. government, military, financial. But if I see certifications on a profile I am interested in and I believe we have a role that matches what the person is looking to do, then I will use the more unscripted part of the interview to go to first principles and test the foundations of CompSci understanding with far fewer buzzwords.
I know there are a few areas in which they are seemingly unavoidable, i.e. government, military, financial. But if I see certifications on a profile I am interested in and I believe we have a role that matches what the person is looking to do, then I will use the more unscripted part of the interview to go to first principles and test the foundations of CompSci understanding with far fewer buzzwords.