Worth paying for a certificate? - 12 months and counting

I am considering a short certificate to improve my chances as an IT help-desk technician. I would rather hear the honest version than the polite one. I am unsure whether employers value it. Did a certificate help you get hired?

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it 12 months ago, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.