First, most problems you encounter, even those 'more interesting' won't probably require much of an algorithm-creation chops. It does usually require more of a

First, most problems you encounter, even those 'more interesting' won't probably require much of an algorithm-creation chops. It does usually require more of an ability to evaluate many of of those possible solutions that you were looking up. A.f.a.i.k this was one of the reasons why current iteration of SICP is taught in Python and not in Scheme. But if you encounter these kinds of problems more regularly, what helped me was to build over time a library of more general problem solving strategies. i.e. is this a graph search? Can I use dynamic algorithm? Is there some recurring pattern that would suggest recursive algorithm? Can I pre-compute something that would help here? I acquired my (even though somewhat limited) library by studying the problem areas that interested me. I.e. graph theory, distributed systems, complexity theory, databases/logic programs, security. On the other hand, I have learned most of this while in college.