I agree with everything you're saying, but I didn't make the claims you're disputing. I don't think CS fundamentals are "useless" or "nonsense" by any stretch.

I agree with everything you're saying, but I didn't make the claims you're disputing. I don't think CS fundamentals are "useless" or "nonsense" by any stretch. There have been times in my career when I wished I had a stronger background. In particular, I've worked for NASA and in finance, and in both cases, I'd have benefitted from stronger statistics and math knowledge. My comment was that most (I would say the vast majority) of software engineer roles don't require a computer science background (emphasis on the science), and wouldn't leverage it even if you had it. If you do have a strong CS background, it opens a lot of doors, and in particular opens doors to--in my opinion--more interesting and challenging work. There's nothing bad about getting a CS degree. It's just not required for a software engineering job. I'm not being dismissive of the education. I'm skeptical of the idea that it's important for most roles.