I have worked as a manufacturing/process engineer in the semiconductor industry (~10 years) and a programmer (~20 years). I have had frequent cause to use soft

I have worked as a manufacturing/process engineer in the semiconductor industry (~10 years) and a programmer (~20 years). I have had frequent cause to use software which did math (beyond arithmetic and basic algebra), but seldom if ever needed to do it myself. I suppose the argument for learning how to do it yourself is that you have a better intuition about what the computer is doing for you, and thus can spot when something is wrong. The problem is that "it helps you think better" applies to lots of things, like being fluent in a second language, understanding ancient history in depth, studying great literature, etc. We don't require them, beyond an introductory class or two. We also have the ratio between calculus and statistics entirely wrong, with much more of the latter required in most engineering degree programs, whereas the latter is much more often going to come up in work (and the rest of life).