My real world experience tends to be something like the following: I want to do X, and it's already obvious it's going to be modeled as say a finite state mach

My real world experience tends to be something like the following: I want to do X, and it's already obvious it's going to be modeled as say a finite state machine in some kind of predetermined hardware. The "computer science" part of the task just doesn't tend to be a very time consuming determination like it is with exam questions designed to probe that specifically. The first thing that actually saves time for me is how long it takes to grab maximally relevant boilerplate code and make modifications. The second thing is how organized i am about having datasheets, code, etc layed out so i can cross reference things quickly without making mistakes or being distracted. Things that wasted most of my time are relatively simple issues in hindsight. Now i help younger people hitting those same walls and realize i have in fact gotten faster at those things i used to be doing, but it doesn't matter because my responsibilities have shifted to other areas where i have less experience. I suspect this cycle will never end and that's ok.