Worth paying for a certificate? - any advice?

I saw that many postings ask for a specific certification. I have read a lot of threads here and could not find my exact situation. I would like to use funding if possible. Did a certificate help you get hired?

Keep everything in writing and save the confirmation numbers. It saved me later.

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