Are (google) certificates worth it?

I think they're only worth it to get a foothold into a new tech stack, and if you're somebody who really needs structure to accomplish substantial learning. Treat it as an intro into an area and nothing more. This "phase" of your learning shouldn't last more than 1-2 months, 3 tops if you're literally completely new to coding. I actually wrote a blog post about Junior Software Engineer learning traps which covers this in more detail: You can find it here.

Software is all about embracing the unknown, jumping into the ambiguity cloud, and just figuring stuff out. Certificates are the complete opposite of that - They are guided, "cookie-cutter" content. After you get the certificate, start building side projects on your own ASAP. If you can, just skip the certificate and go straight to the side projects!

Lastly, I just want to say that I have literally never seen a certificate help a candidate get a job. Don't be expecting these to give you a boost in the hiring world - The market's simply too competitive to allow that, especially at top companies like FAANG.

Generally no, unless you can point to a job listing where you know that the certificate will land you the interview (which may be true in the case of a Google certificate).

In general, the value of any kind of education is with the people. So I'm inclined to suggest: do not do any kind of class/certificate unless you know others doing it with you, or you know the alumni/teachers.