There are no absolutes, but 9 times out of 10 I'd rather play with someone who knows a scale or two. If nothing else it tends to be a good measurement of someones dedication to making music.
That said, what I think is more important is learning how to hear scales. Develop your ear, and internal ear, so that you can really truly hear a scale/distance between notes- this will surely help you more as a musician than memorizing dots/hand movements on the fretboard (what most people think of when they talk about "learning" scales).
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