[CodeIsTheEnd]

> Crunching algorithms for 2 semesters probably makes aspiring engineers feel that they are simply memorizing pages from a book which are trivially indexed by google.

I realize that the majority of engineers will never need to use any of the more advanced topics taught in an algorithms class, but I hope you recognize the irony in this comment; the “trivial indexing” performed by Google is anything but, and, in fact, is only enabled by those very algorithms, implemented dozens of times, in multiple languages, with subtle variations and optimizations and under non-obvious reinterpretations, at every level of the stack.

[lumost]

For the uninterested, it's easy to think or claim that a library or service will do the heavy lifting for you. If someone's goals with a comp-sci program are SaaS apps, web development or other topic which they perceive as [Not Hard], then it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking these topics don't matter.

I've generally found that most new or novel projects require a strong understanding of the fundamentals.