Paperwork or experience, experience every-time for me. Don't care what certificates you may or may not have the question is "can you do the job"
I agree with you but one would need experience to pass the certification exam so they sort of go hand in hand. I really doubt a new tech with say one year on the job could pass this exam. In my organiztion you need 4 years of job experience before you can qualify to write the exam.
