How do you get the underpaid junior programming job, though? My experience trying to get hired without a degree is that recruiters aren't interested in amateurs without formal CS degrees or professional experience and companies ignore anyone who isn't a recent college grad. I've never even gotten the chance to do a leetcode test, much less an interview where I can convince people that I'm capable and willing to work for peanuts if I don't have to do braindead manual labor.