5 years of professional experience is usually seen as equal to having a degree. You learn a lot in 5 years as software engineer. You can of course get a degree

5 years of professional experience is usually seen as equal to having a degree. You learn a lot in 5 years as software engineer. You can of course get a degree in CS later in your career (you can work on a degree remotely while having a job). There are also online courses you can take. And you can also create some respected open source project or library in data science field which will be a solid proof of your competence in the area.