The one time I took a bunch of tests was out of school for a government job--which I didn't take because it was the lowest of my offers.

I do think the unsatisfactory (to many people here) answer is to assume that if you graduated from the right schools you're probably OK with respect to certification.

Ultimately the status quo of getting bombarded with Leetcode rounds every time you want to switch jobs seems untenable, even if in theory each round should get easier with the grind.

What happened to DRY. Just take it once and have it be recognized by all.