I would prioritize educational certificate more than skills especially in my country where educational attainment matters the most. If you apply for any job, you will have an edge if you are a college graduate because you’ll get those white collar jobs while those undergraduate could only settle on low compensated jobs.

No matter how skilled or strategic you are, as long as you don’t have college certificate to present, your application will be rejected. That’s the sad reality if you live in a country where skills are quite underrated, but putting higher priority on those who have finished quality education.