I have used the Aho-Corasick and Boyer-Moore algorithms the Google presenter guy mentioned many times, at least a dozen, in 10 months of employment. I have als

I have used the Aho-Corasick and Boyer-Moore algorithms the Google presenter guy mentioned many times, at least a dozen, in 10 months of employment. I have also implemented a fulltext indexing system because we have total NIH syndrome, which involved working with suffix trees, inverted indexes, and other classic undergrad information retrieval material. You don't have to know everything; you need to know enough to know what you don't know, and where to look to get what you need to get the job done. Like, I just start with Wikipedia, usually. What you need when you actually get the job is a separate concern from what you need to get the job in the first place, though.