You're correct that most programmers don't have to write sort functions by hand but there are certainly a few issues. Big O notation , or at least a Big O way

You're correct that most programmers don't have to write sort functions by hand but there are certainly a few issues. Big O notation , or at least a Big O way of thinking is definitely useful when doing things like optimising queries and data structures etc. For example I've solved performance issues in the past with DBs with poor indexing strategies (or no index at all). When I read the DB manual and it talks about different types of indexes and says "doing X will cause Y or doing Z will cause A". Knowing something about Big O notation and related things means that I can immediately intuitively understand what they key differences between Y and A would be. Thinking about performance in terms of growth also helps me guess which parts of the application require the most optimisation. For example which parts have a roughly fixed n and which parts n will grow with time. Abstractions leak, especially when you are dealing with parallel processing which will become increasingly important as time goes on. How you store and think about your data is going to have huge implications for just about everyone in software in the coming years when having to scale sort operations etc over hundreds of discreet CPU cores becomes the norm. I think a degree in CS is not intended to teach you "what you will need to be a successful software developer today" but more "here are the tools to think about whatever the problems may be for software developers in 10 years time". I agree that maybe there is going to be a gap between what is required for a CRUD implementer vs what is required for someone who designs DBMS systems for oracle and that employers want people qualified in the latter to perform the former. OTOH I feel that this is something that the free market will correct over time and is already beginning to do so. I know a few programmers who are productively employed who are not well versed in CS theory but are still payed well because they can bring other skills to the table.