I hope this isn't a silly question I'm not sure it has a real answer, per se. It seems like certificate programs vary wildly. Right? Even if you ignore all the ones that are non-RA, it seems to be that some might be < $600 while others are like $2500+? And some would be perhaps just learning 50 pgs of material or less, others where you study at least 8 thick books? So my question is whether they are generally worth it as a whole. Because what if you spend 6+ months getting a cert that's more challenging, but your employer / prospective employer just takes one glance and assumes that all you did was attend a silly 2 day class? But I suppose in your resume you could write down that it was a 20 credit hour course without it being negative?
You're right, I don't think there's a single answer to this question. In my world the way it works is that employers know the certs that are offered by the local schools and a few others. Many employers, for example, will know about the PM certs offered by PMI. But if you live in Boston and earn a cert from some little school on the west coast then you can't reasonably expect an east coast employer to know what it really means.
I considered the same thing when I was looking at certificate programs. I went with a graduate certificate from a big name school - the University of Florida. I figured the name carries a lot of weight vs. a graduate certificate from American Military University (no offense intended). Besides that, I live about 2 hours from UF so it is very possible to have done it on site.
Instead of a certificate membership of a professional society might do more for your career (for example PMI is often mentioned on degreeinfo including Kizmet's post above). Benefits include: Periodic news/magazine/journal which keeps you up to date Periodic conferences where you can meet peers, here presentations, make presentations (adding papers to your resume enhances your credentials) Access to data that others have to pay for Many societies offer certificate or other credential programs Annual costs are lower than certificates or additional degrees. There is a good write up of the benefits of joining a professional society in Excelsior's "Live & Learn" magazine for Fall 2007 (page 16). I found it takes a minute or so to download this issue. https://www.excelsior.edu/Excelsior_College/Publications/Live_and_Learn_Magazine_Fall_Winter_2007.pdf