Certifications will absolutely get your foot in the door if you have zero experience.
Don’t think of it as “affordability”, but rather an investment in your future. In the US, you’re spending $400 to study and successfully get a cert in a few months versus $80k doing a college program.
But lets say you seriously can’t afford it at all, then the $10 udemy courses to train you is pretty good to at least know the lingo, and then a few years setting up your own self hosting.