I'm sure that's what they say, and for entry-level jobs it's probably mostly true, even. But I guarantee that if a mid-level developer with lots of experience

I'm sure that's what they say, and for entry-level jobs it's probably mostly true, even. But I guarantee that if a mid-level developer with lots of experience applies for a mid-level job, they'll look at them with or without a degree of any kind. And they won't even care for senior-level. Just about everything on the "requirements" list of a job posting is negotiable. You just have to make up for it in some other way.