Hello,
I've moved around in various areas in the IT business, basically from desktop-support to being the System Admin I am now. I am responsible for Enterprise Vault in a large environment.
During my moves, I have never had to show any certificate to prove I indeed posessed what I claimed to posess. I am an MCSE NT+I, MCSE2000/2003 (messaging), MCITP, SCS7.5 and SCS8.0 (for the last 2 I took the Beta-exam).
These certifications did not result in pay-rises. What they did do was proving to myself that I did (still do) know what I was/am talking about.
Colleagues make little jokes (duh, ask the multi-certified guy), but I am the one holding the certifications, not them!
As I am happy with my current employer and job, I have not yet experienced if the certifications help in landing a job, but I do believe that it will help my cv stand out against the other x-number of applicants.
As for the specific EV certification, In Europe, especially in the Netherlands, it is only a very small circle of people that has heard of EV. Possibly because EV is not as needed as it is in other countries (legal/security reasons) but I do feel that the market is growing.
And yes, following the training and reading the material did point me to some interesting parts of the application I am either not using, or was not aware of.
Regards.
Regards. Gertjan