Someone got hired on a data science team I worked on with no master's degree, partially due to scraping some of our company's data from our website and showing some cool data science-like stuff using that scraped data to the people interviewing/hiring. That said, this may have been a successful tactic there too because the team would sometimes hire non-master's/PhD holders if a person showed aptitude and 'passion' for this type of work. We had PhDs who were really not equipped to do well at the business level, and those with Bachelor's that made major contributions (and vice-versa). Unfortunately there are still companies and teams out there that think a higher degree is a good filter...
Yes, I got a data science job advertised as masters only by showing past work and painting a picture of how I could do similar for their industry specific problems. I think credentials are often more a factor in getting the interview which can be hacked through connections and good networking but once you're in the interview, you can often communicate compentency through past work rather than a stamped piece of paper. That said, I've since done a MSc in Statistics and it's definitely easier. Think it helps but not strictly required in all cases (some companies will insist but think especially now with such a shortage of skills, I think you can get away with just a solid portfolio and good networking skills)
