It would probably be easier 20 years ago.

Doubtful. 20 years ago, the dot com bubble had just burst, there was no money in tech, and jobs were sparse enough that employers tend to require a CS degree and they'd have no shortage of applicants. Microsoft, one of the few (remaining) leading software companies, was famous for asking brain teasers like "Why are manhole covers round?" (I'm not sure whether they asked difficult programming questions -- IIRC Google started the trend later)

The rush of people trying to enter the software industry only happened in the past couple years I think. The demand due to the tech boom drove up both the pay and the numbers of workers employed. Sure, it's probably even harder to enter the top tier companies, but I believe there are much more opportunities than 20 years ago.

What I remember from around that time, if you breathed and was confident, you could get the job. It did not required as much preparation as people put into it now.

Yeah, the hiring goalposts have move significantly from 20 years ago, as in the bar is now much higher.