[kusha]

Not at all -- I have no degree with ~8 YOE. Recruiters and hiring managers don't even inquire about my education anymore.

I assume your worries come from the leetcode trend in interviews.

Personally, I let recruiters that are knocking down my door via LinkedIn or email my expectations up front. Salary & no leetcode (algorithmic problems), I have found a lot of success. There are many companies willing to give sane interviews with real world SWE problems.

Experience is highly valued in this field. Someone with 10 YOE isn't really competing with someone with 5 YOE. If you talk to anyone involved in hiring nowadays it's extremely difficult to find experienced devs. Experience will always trump education.

[mtoddsmith]

Someone with 10 YOE of desktop experience can't compete with someone with 5 YOE of cloud based experience for a saas opportunity.