I come from a non-CS background too, and currently my interest in software development is mostly as a hobby and to build a base I might use in a job later on.

I come from a non-CS background too, and currently my interest in software development is mostly as a hobby and to build a base I might use in a job later on. Remember that "making stuff work", aka prototyping, is incredibly important, and in fact an extremely desirable skill: in so many situations, it can be impossible to see the forest for the trees when building a new idea or architecture, and the design is still on paper; things frequently need to be built out into working first drafts for edge cases or gotchas to become apparent. Often, the result is that everyone might need to go back to the drawing board and start from scratch, so rapid turnaround is essential. Going beyond the basics in any domain is a categorical form of specialization, and specialization in any context tends to require a lot of investment, and the return it gives predominantly leans toward inflexibility and a narrow field of application. When tackling arbitrary, ambiguous problems, the statistical likelihood your specialized knowledge will come in handy is, on average, going to be quite low, unless you're in an academic environment that focuses on your specialty. So don't shun the skillset you already have in "making things work." :D By all means dive into algorithms - just remember the info will likely stay in if you do so at a slow, non-anxious pace and keep your experiences positive ^^