>I can count on 2 hands the number of developers I'v met that
>actually have a degree, or any form of certification.

Count one more, I've got both. I did a survey on the UT a few year back after I heard Calvin say that Fox programmers didn't have university degrees. Turned out that most (on the UT at the time) did.

>Therefore, my question is; Why bother with the certification at all?

I am totally biased here, but I found that studying for the VFP exams caused me to learn more about Visual FoxPro than any other time period before or since. That in itself makes certification worthy. Your mileage may vary. Acutally I'd be interested if other chimed in if this hold true for them as well.

Secondly, I think that certification provides tangible proof to those around me (boss, co-workers, clients) that I strive to improve myself on my own time with my own money. I think they already get that, but it is proof.