I thought the credentials showed that you had completed the (purportedly valuable) education?

This is less and less the case, as weird as that sounds. I'm finishing my degree not because I'm learning anything, but too many managers (and academics) have point-blank told me they just want to see that I've been "initiated".

If you're not learning anything, that's your own decision. Paying for education is paying for access. If you're paying for access to people that you choose not to interact with, then that's it's own brand of stupid.

I never met any of our professors of journalism or dance. Everyone at college is paying for a bundle of credentials and access to experts in many unrelated fields, and nobody uses all of it.

so signals. If you're talented enough you don't need signals, you just provide value.

So for many people, acquiring signals is a complete waste of time and money.