Certification isn't particularly useful in terms of finding a job. I
got a couple certifications at one point, they were utterly useless as
far as finding work. However, they were very useful in the sense of
learning the technologies in pretty extensive detail. If the exam
covers a lot of ground and costs a lot of money, your best option is
to learn the material thoroughly before you take it.

However, I've actually considered taking my certifications **off** my
resume because I don't want the best type of employer thinking, "Oh,
he's **that** kind of programmer." I've also grown very skeptical of
the technologies I got certified in. There are some certification
exams which put a spotlight on the design flaws in their subject
matter.

That being said, I had a look at your blog entries, and if I
understand correctly, the system is three courses, each one pass/fail,
with a certificate awarded at the end, and the question is what
material to cover. So, I'd say currying, continuations, and compiler
internals. The three Cs. Extra credit if you can explain why Stefan
Kaes used abstract syntax trees to optimize Rails performance.

(Just kidding.)

-- 
Giles Bowkett
http://www.gilesgoatboy.org