Algorithms, can't live with them, can't survive without them

1

There was an Introduction to Algorithms course in my college. The reason i didn’t type “I learnt Algorithms during college” because i guess i didn’t. I mean i got average grades and i understood most of it but everything seemed so theoretical and abstract. I am not being able to or i don’t understand how to implement the theory that i learnt into actual programming. So, that’s my situation. My questions to you are:

  1. If i don’t understand everything about algorithms, am i screwed as a programmer?
  2. How does an algorithm course help me to write better programs?
  3. What are the topics in Algorithms that are indispensable to get anywhere in the programming ladder and where can i learn them, preferably in the shortest amount of time?
2

Free Code Camp’s algorithm’s section performs three purposes:

  1. It acquaints campers with the concept of algorithms, and shows how programming can be used to solve clear problems
  2. It teaches some of the most common algorithms that show up all the time during whiteboard coding interviews, which are the basis of most developer job interviews
  3. It gives campers a ton of practice writing JavaScript

You should learn algorithms, and Free Code Camp is a good place to start. If your algorithm skills are good enough to pass coding interviews, then you can probably learn the rest of what you need to know on a just-in-time basis.