texas*princess, yes, the tech sector is a mess right now. I'm living proof - laid off in May and now working part-time as an admin assistant to keep the bills paid.
I'm currently working on my certification as an Oracle database administrator. When the tech sector was hot, a good senior DBA could command six figures, so when things pick up again, I'll be ready
In an economy like this, a certification will give you an edge over other job applicants. If you want to get certified in something specific, try to go with the company most closely associated with it - Oracle for databases, Sun for Java, etc.