I graduated with a BEng Civil Engineering but I've always loved to code (started with my TI85 calculator). Even while working as a CE I was automating AutoCAD with Lisp and C# to make my design work faster. But I finally decided to become a full time programmer after 7 years and boy was that a defining moment in my life!

I had the same problem with recruiters, telling me that I couldn't do this because I didn't have that etc... So I decided that if nobody wanted to employ me I would employ myself and start my own consultancy. I haven't looked back since and my only regret is that I didn't make this decision earlier.

Don't let anyone put you in a box. Do what makes you happy and blaze your own trail!

If you feel that you need a CS degree then nothing stops you from doing an online masters in computer science. They're great because they enable you to work while studying.

Good luck