For what it's worth, Troy's perspective is colored by living in Australia.

My experience is that the Australian tech scene (I don't live there anymore) is in many ways similar to the 1990s in the U.S. Customers and recruiters ask about certificates. Hell, you typically have to go through a professional recruiter in order to get a job; it is often not possible to apply directly to companies.

I am generalizing and also talking about my experience in Australia about 8 years ago. Maybe everything has changed.