If I have taken computer science classes but do not have a degree can I still get an entry-level programming/software development job?

yes, definitely according to me, the company is waiting for skilled people, whom they can pay less and get the job done. the salary of any of the skilled labour in the industry is decided by the demand and supply. the more number of labours are available/skilled for a particular technology the less would be the salary. actually i've been searching for this question for past few months and I have concluded that. select a low level programming language (c, c++) . work on it, as if, it is your hobby to explore the nitty-gritty of the programming language. make a lot of projects and make a repository of it on ( git hub . com ) practice the algorithmic problems on topcoder number of complicated projects on githib and the topcoder ranking would help you get an interview call from a company if you judge you skill on the scale of 10. you would be able to earn your livelihood if you give your self 3/10, and you could get a call from the companies like google/microsoft if you give yourself 8.5 to 10. the rating of 8.5 to 10 can be given to yourself if you are a yellow/red coder on topcoder and have a set of very complicated projects on github on various programming languages. the lower level works of the programming are paid comparatively higher than the higher level works of programming. eg. applications development engineers are paid more than the web development engineers.(the demand and supply concept) you will have to work really hard to get the attention of the companies to give you a job. edits/suggestions are welcome.thanks.

If you want an alternative way to get an entry-level programming job, I would recommend you to check out http://launchcode.org/, a nonprofit aiming to create career opportunities in tech to people without traditional credentials. They place people in all kinds of programming jobs: web development, mobile development, software engineering, business intelligence etc. It is a great way to get your first programming job if you don't already have the expected academic degree or relevant work experience. They have placed more than 100 people in programming apprenticeships on their first year, and 90% of apprentices were offered full-time jobs. It is free to apply and you get evaluated for your potential to become a great programmer. Then they work with more than 150 companies to find the best fit for your skills and interest. You get paid ($15/hr) while getting mentored in your apprenticeship. You will find Pablo's story particularly relevant: https://www.edx.org/blog/edx-launchcode-learner-story-pablo He learnt programming by himself through free online classes at edX and got placed to a paid apprenticeship through LaunchCode. He went from zero to a full-time programming job in less than a year.