The fundamentals are important. In my field of engineering (not software) ignorance of the fundamentals means not knowing how to properly run studies, not being able to accurately make recommendations, not understanding proper cause and effect, not knowing the relevancy of the various settings of the industry standard software...etc etc. It's really hard to find that in new graduates and there is virtually no decent training material. It typically takes 5+ years for just minimum competency, but over a decade before someone begins seeing how everything fits together. Is that common elsewhere?