I've been a developer full time for 35 years, since I was 16 years old. I've led teams, I've been a systems architect, I've never been fired. I can program in J

I've been a developer full time for 35 years, since I was 16 years old. I've led teams, I've been a systems architect, I've never been fired. I can program in Java, C/C++, Python, COBOL, asm of various flavours. I've written crypto software, ERP systems, remote sensing systems, BI systems, dev tools. I have never got paid close to several hundred thousand dollars a year, and I have always had trouble getting through the HR degree filter until the last couple of years when I finally got my CS degree. You could be right, the problem is me. I don't have enough contacts due to 15 years of fully remote work and spending too much time at my previous job, and I don't want to flog myself any more because I'm in my 50s. But I am certain my career has suffered greatly by not having that piece of paper 'proving' to HR I know what I'm doing. And yes, I am bitter about it ;)