I have a decent bit of money, but have spent tons on moving!! I've spent like over 12,000USD on moving expenses alone the past 7 years!!!! I've moved a lot becuase I never seemed to find a decent area they all sucked in some way or another. I'm living in my 10th place in 7 years
Plus I buy a lot of stuff all the time LOL>
Also the field of Architecture is cut-throat and male dominated. Most female architects have to sleep around or play and act to get anywhere in the field. I greatly respect Zaha Hadid becuase she is the most successful female architect out there! She is currently doing so many buildings! I also admire her work! However it must have taken great sacrifices for her to get to where she is. I could never do that. Women are treated badly in the field. That's one industry that I don't want to tread on unless I find a niche.
But yeah I think certs are more important. because they do prove you got the skills. Plus some older people have graduated from college so long ago that the knowledge they've obtained through that is obsolete by now, and a lot of people decide to quit learning after college. it stresses them out so much they take a break for an extended time to recharge. They are also burnt out from it as well.
Older people in certain fields (excluding architecture and free formed schedule fields) are more likely to be burned out from years of wear and tear from the job. They may know the material, but they have tired joints and tired minds, so those people might not have the juice to keep going, but they hold on to the jobs for dear life for financial reasons. This is a problem in the Midwest right now. Specially areas like mine with a lot of 50+ populations.
Younger people are more likely to be creative and think of new ways to solve problems. They also are like fully charged batteries ready to go! My mom can never find any other way to fix problems around the house and I always gotta help her all the time. She is very set-in-her-ways and it's extremely hard to get her to budge.