I did get the certification and the fact that it required a certain ad spend was not lost on me. I work on my own and simply having the logo on my cards and site is all I do; there are people who need the reassurance and it has helped my business.

FYI, the only way you can be certified as a Google "Professional" is if more than one person is certified in the company; otherwise you are stuck being a Google "Individual".

Acknowledging Krisidious' comments, you have an important point. In my case it was easier at the time to pay the $50 for the benefits afforded me and I really did not know how other marketers felt about it.

To be honest I learned more about AdWords almost anywhere but in that course. And my test was inadvertently designed for someone in the UK; I passed even not knowing what a "Pound Sterling" was valued to be. (A Google rep expressed concern that this happened but never followed up with me as promised.)

As you know, when setting up PPC, there's the Google way - and the right way. But people still trust Google. So...