I am also doing an edx course, and I think this is a pretty smart route to take. If you already have a degree in something, all you really need to do is prove that you have the chops to work as a programmer. Edx offers the ability to pay for the course and get graded, and at the end receive a certificate signed by the University offering the course.
What's even cooler is that they offer something called XSeries courses, and as the name implies, you take a series of courses and at the end of that you get a cert that says you are proficient in a specific focus. Right now I am taking 6.00.2 and I took 6.00.1 already. I am taking it because I wanted to learn more about data analysis, and once I complete part 6.00.2 I will get something signed by MIT saying that I know some stuff about computational thinking and data science. My company is also going to pay for me to take a course on SaaS that has two parts, but I am not sure that it will be an XSeries. I will however still get 2 certs saying I understand how to build, deploy, and maintain SaaS applications, and this one is done by Berkeley.
Basically, if you already have a degree, you just need some additional resume pieces to get you in the door, and I think these courses allow for that. You have formal education, and then you have major Universities saying you know at least the basics. That should get you an entry level programming gig at the least.