Is SAA certification worth it for career growth? Honest take

I've been going back and forth on whether to pursue SAA certification and wanted to get honest input from people who've actually done it.

On paper, having exam prep credentials on your resume looks great. But I'm wondering whether employers actually differentiate between certified and non-certified candidates in practice, or whether it just checks a box.

My current role doesn't require the SAA but a senior position I'm targeting lists it as preferred. I've been using the saa security & access management to study and the content is solid — but I want to make sure the certification itself carries weight before investing another 12 weeks.

For anyone who got the SAA cert: did it open doors you wouldn't have otherwise had? Any salary bump or was it more of a formality for a promotion you were already on track for?