You shouldn't think that you can't get a job without a degree that pays better than what you make now as I bet you can, unless you live in a really small market

You shouldn't think that you can't get a job without a degree that pays better than what you make now as I bet you can, unless you live in a really small market where there is little demand for developers. I know this from first-hand experience, you've just got to keep pushing yourself to learn more about software design, etc and keep going to interviews and someone will give you a shot. This will accelerate your learning as well, by working with other developers.