It's complicated. I work at a "target" software company (competes with FAANG on prestige, but not literally FAANG). I interview candidates for senior+ roles, approximately one per week. By the time a candidate gets to me, I read their resume only for icebreakers/small-talk, and I couldn't care less what their resume says otherwise. But, I also happen to know that our internal recruiters, who are the first line of screening, are quite honestly capricious, and they'll dump resumes for any little thing, including, unfortunately in your case, the lack of a degree.
OK well what did the person that whittled down the selection before you saw the one person left do. Of course you don't care when the vetting and choosing has already been done.
If you have the opportunity, getting your resume directly into the hands of a hiring manager is the biggest positive boost, bar none. But I recognize that having that option available or not is a matter of happenstance, on some big or small scale in one's life, more than anything else.
I am in the somewhat unique position where I can take those opportunities as they come as I'm earning money and staying afloat. I could stand to do more networking though.
It's a crapshoot, honestly. The internal recruiters definitely have a pattern in mind, and the more a candidate diverges, the more iffy their application becomes. Some of it is definitely luck, too.
