For the most part as an employee, do it on work time. If you need an important algorithm or data structure, then put extra time in beyond the one you know you c

For the most part as an employee, do it on work time. If you need an important algorithm or data structure, then put extra time in beyond the one you know you can make it work with. Pay as much attention to what's not suitable for the job today as what is. Of course, that means you're to some extent limited by what your work requires, but I think devs should feel not just that it's ok to check out this stuff at work but that they have a responsibility to. The other way around it, depending on your local market, I find is contracting. Then people tend to care less about your theoretical knowledge and rely more on being able to show you the door if you don't produce the goods.